The Miraculous Ink Machine
by SonicCrazyGal
Summary: Adrian and his friends were hoping a relaxing summer with his Uncle Henry. But when Henry takes them to the old studio where he used to work in response to a strange letter, things get a lot more dangerous. Will everyone escape safely with monsters lurking around every corner? Only time will tell.
1. Chapter 1

**An: This story is done by request of Queen Mab the Second. Thank you for the idea and I hope everyone enjoys the story.**

 **Chapter 1:**

Adrian was not looking forward to summer vacation. Now, you might consider it unusual for a teenager to be dreading a few months of school free time, but Adrian was hardly your average teenager. He was the son of the famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste as well as a famous model himself. As such his time spent at school was the only time Adrian felt like a normal teenager. While his friends were talking excitedly of their plans for their coming free time, Adrian could only grimace at the likely prospect that his time spent as a model would increase since he no longer had school to fill up his time. Either that or his father would insist that he keep up his studies during the summer and Adrian would have to spend most of his time indoors being lectured by tutors. It was these depressing thoughts that led him to be picking at his dinner that evening rather than actually eating it.

"You really need to eat," Nathalie, his father's personal assistant, commented as she came in. "You don't want to get sick for your last day of school tomorrow."

"Yes Nathalie," Adrian replied dully, forcing a down a few mouthfuls of food. Once she was satisfied, Nathalie handed Adrian a letter she had brought in.

"What is this?" Adrian asked, looking at the letter in curiosity.

"It's a letter from your uncle on your mother's side," Nathalie informed. "He lives in America which is why you haven't seen him that often."

As Nathalie explained that, vague memories came back to Adrian of meeting a man that looked similar to his mother a few times in his childhood. He remembered that the man had his mother's kind smile and would spend hours drawing with Adrian. He particularly liked to show Adrian the adventures of one specific all black and white character and would tell Adrian all sorts of stories to go along with the pictures. Though Adrian could no longer remember the character's name or what it looked like, Adrian remembered loving the character and asking constantly for his uncle to show him the next adventure. His curiosity piqued, Adrian opened the letter.

 _Hello Adrian,_

 _Sorry, it's been so long since I've last seen you kid. Time sure flies by quickly. It seems like only yesterday you were a small little toddler clinging to your mother as you looked at the world with such big eyes. I couldn't believe how much you had grown in the pictures she would send me._

 _And then she went missing and it's been hard on all of us as we try to find any trace of her..._

 _But we shouldn't let that drive us apart. If anything, it should motivate us to come closer as a family and appreciate all the time we can together. That's why I would like to have you come and stay with me for the summer. I would love to show you around and get to know you better. Also, feel free to bring any friends you'd like. I'd be glad to welcome them with open arms._

 _Please let me know your decision as soon as possible and I hope I get to see you soon._

 _Love,_

 _Uncle Henry_

Adrian had to read the letter two more times just to make sure he understood it correctly. His uncle that he barely remembered was offering him and even his friends a fun vacation together in another country. It was almost to good to be true. But Adrian's bubbling hope was quickly snuffed out when he remembered that he would need his dad's permission before he could even think about seeing his uncle.

 _It almost isn't even worth asking…_ Adrian lamented silently, gazing down sadly at the letter in his hand. With how strict his father tended to be when it came to Adrian, it was unlikely he would ever allow Adrian to leave the country, even if it was to visit family. Still… it wouldn't hurt to ask anyway. That way Adrian would know for sure one way or another and he would be able to move forward.

"Hey Nathalie, is my father home?" Adrian asked, finally looking up from the letter.

"Yes, he's in his study," Nathalie replied, checking her tablet. "You can see him if you wish."

"Thank you," Adrian nodded, rising from his seat and heading to his father's study. Adrian paused outside the door, taking a moment to gather his nerves before he knocked on the door.

"Enter," Adrian heard his father call through the door. Adrian quietly opened the door and closed it silently behind him walking towards his father's desk. He stopped a short distance from the desk and waited for his father to complete the paperwork he was working on.

"Hello Adrian," Gabriel finally said, looking up at his son once he had finished. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Uncle Henry sent me a letter," Adrian explained, handing his father the letter as he spoke. "He's invited me to come visit him over the summer. And I just wanted to ask if I'd be able to go."

"And you'd want to bring your friends along as well I assume," Gabriel commented, still scanning the letter.

"If it isn't too much trouble…" Adrian agreed politely, trying his best to hide his nerves.

"I don't see a problem with it," Gabriel finally said after a few minutes of silence. "I'll be traveling a lot myself this summer for various business deals and contacts. You have my permission to visit your uncle along with any friends you desire to take with you."

"Thank you father," Adrian beamed, relaxing his tense posture.

"Be sure to let Nathalie know so she can make the arrangements," Gabriel concluded before going back to his work. With that clear dismissal, Adrian left his father's study and hurried to find Nathalie. Maybe this summer wasn't going to be as bad as he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

The next week was a whirlwind of activity while arrangements were made for Adrian and his friends to visit American. Nino and Alya had both agreed immediately to come with Adrian and were very excited to go. Marinette had surprisingly been hesitant but had eventually agreed to come along as well. Adrian himself had some doubts about leaving when it was discovered that both he and Ladybug would be leaving for a few weeks. But later Plagg assured him that it would be alright. That, while he couldn't really explain it, he sensed that Paris would be safe for however long they were away. That had greatly eased Adrian's nerves so when he and his friends were finally relaxing in the first class cabinet, flying to the states, Adrian was able to have fun talking to his friends and leave all his worries behind.

"This place is pretty sweet," Nino commented, leaning back in his seat. "But I'm surprised you don't have a private jet or something like that."

"We do," Adrian replied with a smile at his friends stunned expressions. "But my dad will be using it for his business trips, so this will do."

"Well it's defiantly more than enough," Marinette assured Adrian. "Especially with you here… I mean it's really generous of you to invite us you come visit your uncle."

"So what's your uncle like anyway?" Alya asked, looking up form her phone. "You haven't really talked to him before."

"That's because I haven't seen him in a long time," Adrian replied, leaning back in thought. "I don't really remember much about him, but I know he was really nice and loved to draw. This trip is so I can get to know him better."

"Well I'm glad we get to share this special trip with you then," Marinette smiled, briefly holding Adrian's hand before blushing and pulling it back.

"Us too," Alya and Nino agreed as well, putting their arms around the other two. The group laughed and joked the time away. Before they knew it, the plane landed and they all got off.

"So how are we going to find your uncle?" Marinette asked as they retrieved their luggage.

"He's supposed to be meeting us here," Adrian replied as he leads the way through the airport. "I'm sure we'll be able to find him."

"I think that's him over there!" Alya said, pointing into the crowd ahead. The group turned to see a middle-aged man holding a sign with Adrian's name on it. The walked over to the man and he lowered his sign, smiling warmly at Adrian and his friends.

"Hi Adrian," Henry greeted, pulling Adrian into a brief hug, before getting a closer look at him. "You look just like your mother. It's great to see you. I'm so glad you could make it."

"I'm glad to be here too," Adrian beamed before gesturing to the rest of the group. "Let me introduce you to my friends."

Once introductions were out of the way, Henry showed the group the way to his car and helped load up the luggage. The group then pilled into the car, with Adrian and Henry and in front with the others in the back. Once they were all safely settled, they began driving to Henry's house.

"So what do you do for a living?" Alya asked, leaning forward to better hear Henry's response. "Adrian says you like to draw?"

"Yes, I love drawing," Henry nodded, smiling fondly. "Currently I'm an illustrator for children's books as well as doing the occasional commission. But I used to be an animator and created cartoons."

"Cool!" Nino said, also leaning forward. "What cartoons did you work on."

"And why did you stop?" Marinette asked out of curiosity. "It seems liked you loved being an animator."

"I helped create Bendy the Dancing Demon and I did love it," Henry sighed, his smile dropping slightly. "But Joey, my partner, and I got into a huge fight when I had to leave for war. I don't really like talking about it, but the bottom line is that Joey said I was fired and would never be welcome back so I left. My biggest regret is that I was never able to get the rights back to my characters."

"That's terrible Uncle Henry," Adrian said in sympathy, putting his hand on his uncle's arm. "I remember how much you loved telling be about Bendy and all his crazy adventures. I wish you had gotten to keep them."

"Me too, but that's all in the past," Henry said, brightening up. "And even though bad things had happened, the time is spent working at the studio is still some of my best memories and I will treasure it forever. Come on, I'll show you my personal collection from the studio and then we can get you settled into your rooms."

The group eagerly got of his car and followed Henry into his modest home. He leads them down the hall and into a large room. Old Posters and framed sketches hung on the walls. Videotapes, plushies and other toys filled a large bookcase. And in the center of it all was a drawing table with a Bendy cutout leaning next to it. The teens were amazed at the sight and began to explore.

"You kept all this from the studio?" Adrian asked, glancing back at his uncle.

"Yeah," Henry nodded, looking at everything. "There was no way I was getting rid of it so I've kept it here. Mostly this room is just for memories sake but every now and then I come in here and draw another Bendy adventure."

"Do you think you can show us some of the cartoons you used to make?" Marinette asked, looking at all the videos. "I would love to see your work."

"Let's get you guys unpacked first and then we can have a movie night," Henry bargained, gesturing to the entrance. "How does that sound?"

The teens agreed and reluctantly left the room to retrieve their suitcases. They couldn't wait to learn more about Henry and the cartoons he used to create.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

The next few weeks were packed full of all sorts of fun activities and passed quickly for the teens as a result. Some days Henry would take them around the city, showing them the sights. Other days they just stayed at his house and Henry would tell them stories from his past, particularly from when he still worked at the studio, and show them his favorite Bendy adventures, even a few that were never aired. Every now and then, Henry would have to work on a few drawings for work and the teens loved seeing him bring his pictures to life. All in all, it was a wonderful time and the teens wished it would never end.

One morning, Adrian awoke before everyone else as was usual for him. By this point, he and the other teens had all adjusted to the time difference, but Adrian was so used to getting up at a set time that he had a hard time sleeping in like the others. Adrian didn't mind it though, enjoying the quiet and personal time. Adrian had just walked down the stairs, thinking of reading another of Henry's books, when we were surprised to see a light on in the kitchen already.

Curious as to who else was up this morning, Adrian entered the kitchen. He found Henry sitting at the table. He was holding a cup of coffee, but it seemed untouched. Henry seemed to be deep in thought about something and hadn't even noticed Adrian yet. Adrian coughed lightly to inform his uncle of his presence. Henry jumped a little, though no coffee was spilled.

"Hey Adrain," Henry greeted, putting his cup down. "I didn't see you there. What are you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Adrian joked as he sat down at the table. "I'm usually up at this time, but you aren't. So what's on your mind?"

"I got this letter last night," Henry replied, handing Adrian a piece of paper. "It's been on my mind ever since and I could barely sleep as a result. I'm just not sure what to do about it."

Confused and a little concerned, Adrian read over the letter.

 _Dear Henry,_

 _It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. 30 years really slips away, doesn't it? If you're back in town, come visit the old workshop. There's something I need to show you._

 _Your best pal,_

 _ **Joey Drew**_

"Joey… isn't he the guy that fired you from the studio?" Adrian asked once he finished reading the letter.

"Yeah," Henry nodded, glancing at the name on the letter. "We were best friends and even co-founded the studio, but we haven't spoken at all since the fight. I want to believe he's finally come to his sense, but I can't help but be suspicious. Why now? After all these years why reach out to me now?"

"Still… I think you should go," Adrian reasoned, drawing Henry's attention. "You may not know why he's reaching out to you after all this time, but he might actually want to reconnect. And even if he has some other motive, you should still go. You've regretted being away for so long, you need this closure."

"True, if I don't go I'll be spending the rest of my life wondering 'what if'," Henry agreed, leaning back. "But I don't know how long thus meeting could take and I don't want to just leave you kids here alone."

"Then take us with you," Adrian suggested. "This is important to you so don't let us stop you. I'm sure the others will be happy to agree to come once you explain the situation. Plus, I would love to see the studio after hearing so many stories about it."

"Can't argue with that," Henry chuckled, finally drinking his coffee and grimacing slightly when he realized how cold it had gotten. "We'll have to ask the others when they get up, but it seems we'll be going."

"Can't wait," Adrian agreed with a smile. He then got up and helped his uncle make breakfast. The smell of food soon brought the others down and after everything was explained to them, they readily agreed to accompany Henry to the studio. Once breakfast was eaten and everyone was ready, they piled once more into Henry's car. The teens joked and theorized what the would see in the studio and what Joey would want to tell Henry. Before they knew it, Henry was pulling up it the parking lot and the teens eagerly poured out of the car.

"This place looks pretty run down," Mariette commented as she looked at the building once she got out of the car. Most of the windows were boarded up and there were weeds growing all over the parking lot. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"I would never forget where it is," Henry assured, coming up next to her. "And I'm not surprised that this place is falling apart a little. I heard from some of my friends that had still worked here after I left that they started having trouble soon after I was fired. The studio officially closed about 10 years later."

"Then why would your friend want to meet you here?" Nino wondered, adjusting his glasses.

"Joey loved this studio," Henry replied. "He practically lived here before and he's stubborn enough to stay even after it was shut down."

"Well we're not going to get any answers just standing around here," Alya declared, gesturing to the entrance. "So let's get going already."

"Right," Henry nodded, leading to the group to the door. He paused for a moment and to a deep breath to ready himself. He then reached for the nob and pulled the door open. "Alright Joey I'm here, So let's see what you wanted to show me."


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Now rewritten to incorporate the new updates.

Chapter 4:

The hallway was empty and silent except for something occasionally dripping from the ceiling. The floor was dusty and there were a few cobwebs hanging in the air. Surprisingly there was a dim light coming from the room up ahead, being the only sign of life in this otherwise abandoned building. The group cautiously made their way forward, their footsteps making the old floorboards creak, and came into a large room. The majority of light they had seen was coming from a project left on, illuminating the messy room with papers and chairs strewn everywhere, but there was no sign of Joey Drew anywhere.

"I thought you said he was expecting?" Marinette said in confusion as she looked around. "But there doesn't seem to be anyone here."

"Well the letter didn't give a specific time or date," Henry admitted as he too looked for a sign of his former friend. "So he's probably elsewhere in the studio. I can show you around while we look for him."

"Nice, a private tour," Alya said, pulling out her phone. "This might not be going on my ladyblog, but exploring an abandoned studio is defiantly film worthy."

"Down here's my old desk," Henry informed as he leads the group down a side hallway to a lone desk and chair. "I wasted so much time in this chair. Animating was hard work so I often got distracted making my own doodles instead of working on the actual cartoon. Joey would always get a bit frustrated with me for that, but my doodle ideas often ended up becoming new episodes or characters, so he couldn't hold a grudge for long."

"It sounds like you had a great time," Adrian chuckled with the others.

"Yeah," Henry agreed with a small smile before looking over behind his desk. Where there used to be just a wall was now a whole room with three more animation desks. "And it looks like they knocked out a wall or two after I left. I guess it took a couple of people to replace me. I just wish it hadn't ended so badly. But now maybe Joey and I can finally bury the hatchet and move on. But first we need to find him, let's keep looking."

Henry and the others admired the new room for a minute before heading back towards the main room. Henry lead the way across the main room and down another hallway. They didn't get very far before they saw that someone had painted "Dreams Come True" across the wall.

"Well that certainly wasn't here before," Henry shook his head in disappointment. "I bet some teenagers broke in and did that. Nothing we can do about it now…"

Turning away from the writing, the group went further down the hall. They turned down a corner and ended up having to step over a large pipe. They then came to a balcony overlooking a large room with a large pit in the center with chains leading down into it.

"What's down there?" Alya asked, leaning over the balcony in an attempt to see what was down the pit, but all she saw was darkness.

"I'm not sure," Henry replied, looking at the controls. "But it looks like this lift could use a few dry cells."

Luckily, there were a couple of dry cells on a nearby shelf and Henry easily installed.

"Let's see what you hid down there old friend," Henry murmured as he flipped the switch. The chains began to clank and move, revealing a giant machine.

"Woah," Nino said, looking it over from the balcony. "That's one big machine. What does it do?"

"I've heard about this," Henry commented, as he leaned in closer to get a better look at it. "It's called the Ink Machine. Apparently, Joey had it installed soon after I left. It's supposed to provide ink for everyone in the studio. Mostly though, I heard it caused a lot of problems, but I also heard it was used as another power source. I'm surprised it's off. I wonder how you turn it on."

"Well the machine looks pretty well taken care of," Adrian observed as he examined the machine and the controls nearby. "But I'm not seeing it any sort of switch for it here."

"Maybe the switch is in another part of the studio?" Marionette suggested nervously. She wasn't sure why, but the machine was making her feel uneasy, but she pushed it aside, chalking it up to being in a creepy old studio.

"Then let's go find it," Alya agreed enthusiastically, gesturing towards the door. "I want to see what this bad boy does for myself."

"Alright we can keep looking," Henry chuckled stepping back from the balcony's railing. They went down another hallway and the teens were enjoying looking at all the posters on the walls from when the studio was still in business. A sudden thud startled them and made them all jump slightly. They turned to see a plank of wood had fallen from the ceiling and landed just a few feet in front of Henry.

"That was close," Henry said, looking from the board to the ceiling. "But not really surprising considering the state of this place. We'll have to be extra careful from now on. I don't want any of you kids getting hurt so stick close to me and watch your step."

The group carefully made their way around the board and went down the right hallway. They came to a room with a large switch on the far wall and six pedestals along the side walls. Behind each pedestal was a framed picture of the silhouette of six different random objects.

"This seems like the power switch to the Ink Machine," Henry said as he walked forward and flipped the large switch a couple of times. "But it doesn't seem to be working. I must be missing something."

"I think these pedestals have something to do with why the switch isn't working," Adrian replied, studying the base of one of the pedestals and the cables leading into the wall. "They appear to be wired to it for some reason. "

"I wonder if we need to get the objects on the pictures then," Marionette said, glancing at the pictures. "It seems like the only thing that makes sense, but why make turning on the machine so complicated?"

"Who cares, it's just like a scavenger hunt," Nino smiled, studying the pictures and committing them to memory. "Doesn't seem like it'll be that hard to find all the things we need lying around this place. It might even be fun."

"This is great! This trip is turning out to be a real adventure." Alya beamed, panning the room with her phone then heading back out. "Come on! Let's find those objects!"

"Wait! We're supposed to stick together!" Marinette called as Alya left the room. Alya didn't appear to hear Marionette as she continued to disappear around the corner. Marinette started to sigh in exasperation when Alya screamed. The others looked at each other in surprise and fear before hurrying after Alya.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Now updated.**

 **Chapter 5:**

"Alya!" Mariette called as she turned the corner with the others, finding her friend standing just around the corner. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Alya assured, regaining control of her nerves. "This little guy startled me is all."

The group turned to see a Bendy cut outstanding in the center of the hallway that hadn't been there before. It smiled innocently at them and there was no sign of how it had gotten there.

"What the?" Henry commented, examining the cut out for any clues. "Who put this here?"

"Do you think this place is legit haunted?" Nino asked in excitement, poking the cut out. "Because that would be pretty sweet."

"If this place is haunted…" Marinette began, looking around nervously and rubbing her arms in fear. "Maybe we should leave before things get worse."

"Don't tell me you're scared," Nino teased, nudging Marinette playfully. "We have to deal with monsters practically every week back home. A ghost should be nothing."

"There's nothing wrong with being cautious," Adrian agreed with Marinette, briefly giving her hand a squeeze. He could understand her worries as this place was starting to creep him out as well. "Maybe it's best if we forget this whole thing and get out of here."

"I'm sure this place isn't actually haunted," Henry assured, putting a comforting hand on Marinette's shoulder. "I'm sure it's just Joey playing a prank on me for leaving. If we look around some more I'm sure we'll find him, but if you really want to go, then we'll leave."

"No, I want to stay," Alya assured, regaining her confidence. "I was just startled is all. I still want to explore some more."

"Me too," Nino agreed easily, putting his arm around the cutout. "It's going to take more than this little guy to scare me away."

"Alright," Henry nodded his head before turning to Adrian and Marinette. "What about you two? If your still uncomfortable, you can wait by the car until we're done. I'm sure it won't take too much longer."

"I'll stay," Adrian and Marinette replied at the same time, both thinking it would be better to be with the others just in case things did turn out badly. Surprised at each other's response, Marinette and Adrian briefly exchanged confused glances.

"That's settled then," Henry said, clapping his hands together and drawing everyone's attention. "We'll keep looking around and even see if we can get the Ink Machine going. Let's head back to the main room. I think I saw an inkwell in that room behind my old desk."

The others nodded and the carefully walked by the cutout and back down the hallway towards the entrance. Like Henry had remembered, they found an inkwell by one of the desks.

"Was that Bendy always like that?" Marinette asked, staring at the drawing on the desk, which was in a jumping pose. "I'm pretty sure it was in a different position when we first came in here."

"I'm sure it's just your imagination," Alya assured, giving her friend a brief one-armed hug. "You're still creeped out by this place after all."

Unable to think of a good argument, Marionette dropped the subject. Finding nothing else useful, the group went further into the studio once more. This time, they went left instead of going right towards the cutout and break room. As went down the hallway, Alya spotted something on a nearby shelf.

"Hey, check this out," Alya called to the others, pulling down the old tape recorder and showing it to everyone.

"Good job Alya," Henry congratulated, taking the tape recorder. "This might have some clues about what happened here."

"So press play already," Nino added eagerly, leaning in. Henry obliged as the others gathered around him. After a brief burst of static, a voice filled the air.

"At this point, I don't get what Joey's plan is for this company. The Animations sure aren't being done on time anymore. And I certainly don't see why we need this machine. It's noisy it's messy. And who needs that much ink anyway?"

"That's Wally Franks," Henry informed, briefly pausing the tape. "He used to be the janitor here."

"Also, get this, Joey had each of us donate something from our workstation." Wally's voice continued. "We put them on these little pedestals in the break room. To help appease the gods, Joey says. Keep things going. I think he's lost his mind, but, hey, he writes the checks. But I tell you what, if one more of these pipes burst, I'm out of here."

"This Joey sounds like a strange dude," Nino commented once the tape was finished.

"He was always a bit eccentric," Henry admitted, putting the tape recorder back on the shelf. "And I guess without me to keep him in check, he might have bone a little overboard with his big ideas."

"While that was interesting, it wasn't as informative as I was hoping," Alya said in slight disappointment. "let's keeping looking."

The group continued down the hallway with Adrian and Marinette hanging in the back. Both were unusually silent as they continued walking, both feeling bad vibes coming from the studio but unable to explain it. They unconsciously drifted close to each other, taking comfort in each other's presence. The others didn't take notice of their discomfort and continued to talk cheerfully as they continued to search for the needed objects.

After searching a while, they were able to the Bendy plushy in the theater room, the book in the new break room, the gear in the ink machine room, and the record in one of the offices. All that was left was the wrench, but they couldn't find in any of the other places they searched. It was decided that it was probably down the hallway behind the cutout. With slight hesitation, the group made their way towards it. To their surprise and slight worry, the cut out was no longer in the hallway. Unable to do anything about it at the moment, the group went down the hallway.

"AAAAAHHH!" This time it was Marinette who screamed and the others were unable to offer any comfort. They were too shocked by the gruesome sight before them. Laying on a slanted table was what appeared to be the corpse of a cartoon wolf. Its head was leaning to the side and its eyes were 'X'ed out like you would see when cartoons die in cartoons. Its chest was cut open and it's ribs pried apart with it's black looking blood staining its clothes and the table.

"Oh god," Henry gasped, leaning against the doorway for support. "Joey, What have you done?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

The group was silent as the stared at the cartoon corpse lying before them, unsure of exactly how to react. Nino was the first to come out of his shocked state and took a step closer.

"This is a pretty cool set up," Nino said with an easy smile. "It's so realistic!"

Nino turned to the others only to find them staring at him in disbelief.

"Come on you can't really think this is real do you?" Nino said, gesturing to the dead wolf. "It has to be some sort of prop like they use in movies."

"Yeah…" Alya nodded slowly, clinging to Nino's logic. "It has to be fake. I mean, there's no such thing as living cartoons after all."

Henry pushed himself off the wall as he calmed down. He wasn't sure whether Boris was real or not, but he wasn't going to find out by standing around. Adrian and Marinette did not believe Nino's logic, the scene looking far too real and gruesome for a simple set. Plus the negative aura that just seemed to be emitting from the studio itself only served to convince them that there was something more sinister was going on. They could also swear that they could hear whispers coming from the ink dripping down. They didn't voice their concerns, but their hands did drift to where their kwamii's were hidden, subconsciously seeking comfort.

"Maybe we should get out of here," Adrian finally spoke up, tearing his eyes away from the display in front of him. He felt Plagg nudge against him under his shirt, actually agreeing with Adrian for once.

"Yeah," Marinette agreed, looking paler than normal. "I don't like this at all."

"But we're so close to getting the Ink Machine started," Alya protested, her usual confidence returning. "We can't give up now! Come on Marinette, you've faced down an angry Chloe, surely a Halloween prop isn't going to scare you off."

"This isn't even in close to the same thing," Marinette scowled, glaring at Alya.

"I promise we'll leave soon," Henry promised, going over and picking up the wrench that had been sitting in Boris' gapping chest. "Just as soon as we get the Ink Machine going we'll get out of here. Whether or not Joey decides to show his face."

Adrian and Marinette reluctantly nodded and followed as the group went back to the break room with everything they found. Approaching the closest pedestal, Henry took out the Bendy plushy and put on top of it. As soon as the Bendy plushy rested on the pedestal, it sank down slightly as a loud click filled the air. The same process was repeated for each of the pedestals.

"Now we just need to get the ink flowing somehow," Henry said once the last object was in place. "There should be a switch around here somewhere, and then I can start up the main power."

"Wasn't there a switch back in that theater room?" Alya recalled, thinking back. "Back where we found the Bendy plush?"

"Your right," Henry smiled, congratulating Alya. "Let's go."

The group made their way through the various hallways and just as they were approaching the theater room, a Bendy cut out peeked out from behind the corner before pulling back, startling the group.

"Alright Joey," Henry said sternly, rounding the corner. "That's eno-"

Henry cut off as there was no one around the corner, only the cut out leaning innocently against the wall.

"Where'd he go?" Nino wondered. Before anyone could answer, the project flickered to life and showed a test film of Bendy dancing.

"I really don't like this," Marinette murmured, holding onto the person closest to her. She was so nervous that she didn't even realize that it was Adrian that she was holding onto.

"I'm sure it's just old equipment," Henry tried to assure, though he didn't sound nearly as confident as he tried to portray. The teens followed Henry as he walked around the projector and pressed the flow button. A rumbling filled the air followed by a large crack. Ink poured down from the broken pipe near the ceiling and pooled onto the floor.

"This is what that dude must have been talking about when he said the machine was messy," Nino said, looking up at the pipe. "If burst pipes were always like this, no wonder he wanted to leave."

"No kidding," Alya agreed in disgust, lifting her foot out of the ink. "This stuff is nasty. I'm never going to get this out."

"Come on," Henry called to the others as he made his way around the still streaming ink. "We should be able to start up the main power now."

The group happily left the theater room and made their way back to the switch. Henry flipped it, but, outside of a few lights turning on, there wasn't that much of a reaction.

"I guess that wasn't so bad after all," Marinette commented, relaxing and feeling slightly foolish for all her fears. "I guess I was worried for nothing."

"I was hoping for something more dramatic," Alya sighed in disappointment. "Still, let's go check out the Ink Machine to see if it's working now."

"Just stick near me and don't get to close to it," Henry instructed, taking the lead. "It is still a large piece of machinery and I don't want you accidentally getting hurt."

The others nodded as they followed, rumbling of machinery getting louder as they walked. As they got closer to the Ink Machine, the negative aura Adrian and Mariette had been feeling seemed to increase with every step.

"Guys! We need to get out of here!" Marinette said, panicking slightly.

"We will," Henry acknowledge, not realizing just how scared Marinette was. "Just after… What the?"

The door the Ink Machine was now boarded up, though they could still see the Ink Machine through the planks.

"Maybe we should leave," Alya finally agreed, as both she and Nino began to feel nervous. Henry didn't appear to hear her as he walked closer to the boards. Just as he was about to lean in for a closer look, something large and black popped up and attempted to grab him.

"What the!" Henry shouted as he stumbled back, the others screaming at the appearance of the creature. "Bendy?!"

Though the creature did share some similarities with the cute cartoon devil, it was far too large and its grin more predatorily. It seemed to be staring at them through its ink covered face as it's clawed hands continued to reach for them.

"Run!" Adrian commanded, snapping the others out of their shock. They all began scrambling for the exit, though their progress was significantly slowed as boards broke, pipes burst, and ink poured from the walls, flooding the floor. The ink demon's aura seemed to stretch out after them, creating inky veins on the walls and ceiling. The group didn't dare look as they ran, their fear pushing them faster.

"I can see the exit!" Alya shouted as the rounded a corner and insight of the open door. The group began to hope that they would be able to get out of this alive when the floor collapsed under them, dropping them into the darkness below.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Screams filled the air as the group continued to fall through the floor. Henry snapped out of his panic and grabbed the two teens closest to him, Alya and Nino, and angling his body so he would take the impact rather than them. Adrian followed Henry's example and grabbed Marinette to protect her as well. But instead of the hard floor, they were expecting, they splashed into a large pool of ink below, cushioning their fall.

"Is everyone alright?" Henry asked as he realized the teens he had been protecting and stood up.

"Yeah," Alya nodded, wiping ink from her glasses. "But I'm going to need a serious bath when we're out of here."

"We're fine here as well," Adrian added as he helped Marinette up. "But we should get going before that monster catches up with us."

"Right," Henry nodded, looking around. "First let's see if we can find a way to drain this ink."

Henry spotted a wheel on a nearby pipe and waded his way towards it. Henry grunted a bit as he forced the wheel to turn, but he eventually got it moving. With a clank, the ink began to drain away to reveal a stairway. The group made their way down the stairs before Henry had to drain the ink again. This process repeated a few more times before the ink was finally gone completely and they came to a small room. The group looked around, taking in the boarded up hallway and writing that said 'The Creator Lied to Us' across the wall.

"Well that's not a good sign," Alya commented when she read the writing. "I wonder what happened to inspire that."

"Whatever it is, led to a monster chasing after us," Nino summarized, glaring briefly at the writing. "So let's forget about it."

"But maybe if we figure out what happened," Marinette said thoughtfully. "then we can figure out how to stop that monster."

"Well we can't do anything from down here," Adrian replied, studying the boarded up hallway. "So how about we get out of here first and then figure out what to do."

"Exactly Adrian," Henry agreed, spotting an axe on the wall. "I need to get you kids out of here and to safety, then we can have the police handle this place. And this will defiantly come in handy."

Henry took the axe and went over to the boards and began clearing a path. Thankfully, the boards were pretty old and rotted, letting Henry clear them away pretty easily. The group followed behind Henry, carefully stepping around the broken boards. Adrian was right behind Henry and therefore ran into him when Henry stopped suddenly. Fortunately, both Henry and Adrian managed to keep their balance.

"Uncle Henry, why'd you…" Adrian began only to trail off as he took in the room. Painted on the center of the floor was a pentagram with coffins propped up on the wall behind it.

"Oh my gosh…" Alya stared at the room in shock, covering her mouth with her hands. "You… you don't think they are real do you?"

"I don't know," Henry grimaced. "And it's probably best if we don't find out. Let's go."

Henry began to carefully make his way around the pentagram when the room began to shake, causing the hallway behind them to collapse. The group tried to keep their best to stay upright, but they all soon fell to the floor. Adrian started falling towards the pentagram when Henry pulled him back in time. Unfortunately, this caused Henry step into the pentagram and was assaulted by a series of images. The pain of the invasion caused him to pass out across the pentagram just as the room stopped shaking.

"Uncle Henry?" Adrian asked in worry, carefully checking on his uncle without stepping into the pentagram himself.

"Is he alright?" Marinette asked, coming up next to Adrian.

"I think so," Adrain confirmed. "He's just passed out for some reason. Help me get him out of this thing."

Marinette and the others helped Adrian carefully grab Henry and pull him out of the pentagram. Once he was out, they propped him up against the wall and looked around for anything that might help him, but there was nothing useful.

"What should we do now?" Nino wondered, looking at the others.

"We need to get out of here," Marinette said, gaining confidence and pacing slightly. "but we can't leave Henry here, but we aren't able to take him with us either… so I guess we'll just have to rest in here for now."

"But won't that monster be able to find us?" Alya asked in worry.

"I don't think it can get through all that," Adrian said, pointing to the collapsed hallway behind them. "And even if it did attempt to break through, we would be able to hear it long before it got to us. Let's just wait until Uncle Henry wakes up and then we'll keep getting out of here."

With no other ideas, the group settled down to wait for Henry to wake up.

"Being in some place that's actually haunted isn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be," Nino commented, trying to come up with conversation to pass the time.

"Hey, it'll be fine," Alya replied confidently, nudging Nino. "Sure there's a giant ink monster out there after us, but all of us together are no match for it. We'll be out of here in no time."

What if it isn't that easy," Marinette spoke up, resting her head on her knees as she expressed her worries. "This isn't like back home where there's just an Akuma that needs to be rid of. This is a real monster. We're in over our heads and what if we never get out."

"We will get out of this Marinette," Adrian assured, putting his arm around Marinette. "Sure, this isn't like home, but I know we can handle this. Plus, Uncle Henry has been here before and he'll be able to get us out once he wakes up. You'll see."

"Thanks, Adrain," Marinette murmured, blushing slightly. Alya laughed slightly at the two and the conversation took a more light-hearted turn from there.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I got into a car accident two weeks ago and I didn't have a chance to write more until recently.**

 **Also, once the update to the game comes, I will be rewriting some of the earlier chapters.**

 **Chapter 8:**

A couple of hours passed after Henry had passed in the pentagram before he finally started stirring. Letting out a groan, Henry opened his eyes and sat up from where the teens had propped him up against the wall.

"Ugh, oh my head," Henry moaned, putting a hand on his throbbing head. "What happened?"

"You passed out when you accidentally stepped on the pentagram," Adrian explained as he helped his Uncle up. "You've been out for a couple of hours. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Henry nodded slowly as the pain ebbed away. "I saw some weird visions of the Ink Machine, that 'Bendy' Monster, and I think a wheelchair."

"Maybe their some sort of clue," Alya said in thought, tapping her chin. "What do you think they mean."

"I don't know, but I guess there's only one thing to do," Henery concluded, picking up his axe again. "Press on and see if we can find a way out."

Henry used his axe to clear the boards from the doorway before leading the teens through the next hallway. When they came to the end, they found what appeared to be some sort of alter to Bendy with the words 'He Will Set us Free' written above it.

"I don't like this," Marinette grimaced, holding her purse close for comfort. "It's almost like someone's worshiping that monster."

"Like a cult," Nino concluded, looking over the altar. "That's both exciting and kind of scary. Do you think we'll run into them do you?"

"I doubt there's actually a cult down here," Henry reasoned, leading the group on. "Lets' just focus on getting out of here. How did this place get so big?"

"You mean it wasn't this big when you left," Marinette asked in worry.

"The studio was pretty big, but I don't recognize these hallways," Henry explained as he looked around. "But if we can get to a part of the studio I'm familiar with, I know I can lead us out of here."

"Hey, guys!" Adrain called, drawing the groups attention to the tape recorder he was holding. "I found this over by that alter."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Alya asked in excitement as the gathered around Adrian. "Play it already."

 _"He appears from the shadows to rain his sweet blessings upon me_." A male voice said reverently. " _The figure of ink that shines in the darkness. I see you, my savior. I pray you hear me. Those old songs, yes, I still sing them. For I know you are coming to save me. And I will be swept up into your final loving embrace. But, love requires sacrifice. Can I get an amen?"_

The tape recorder clicked off and the group just looked at each other in stunned silence.

"I said, can I get an amen?"

The voice cut through the silences and seemed to come from right behind the group. They whipped around for the source of the voice but there was no sign of whoever had just spoken.

"W-who was that?" Marinette, with a slight tremor in her voice.

"That sounded like Sammy Lawrence," Henry replied slowly. "He used to be the music director, but I've never heard him talk like that. And it seems like this recording must have been made after whatever happened here."

"Do you think he's still here," Adrian wondered, putting the tape recorder back.

"I don't know," Henry frowned. "And I actually hope he isn't. Come on, let's keep going."

The group went past a few more alters and did their best to avoid looking at any coffins they would find. Henry was leading the group through a flooded hallway when he heard someone muttering up ahead. He looked up to see a humanoid figure walking across the doorway, carrying a Bendy cut out.

"Hey," Henry called out automatically, startling the teens behind him. "Excuse Me! Can you help us! Hello?"

The figured seemed to ignore them as it continued walking without pausing. Henry hurried his way through the ink and turned the corner only to find a dead end. The figure was nowhere in sight with the Bendy cut out propped up against the wall.

"Where the hell did he go?" Henry wondered out loud as the teens caught up with him.

"Maybe there's some sort of secret passage," Nino suggested, studying the walls. "It must be really well hidden because I'm not finding anything."

"Maybe it was a ghost," Alya teased, though none of the others felt like laughing at her joke.

"Either way, I don't think he's going to help us," Adrian reasoned, crossing his arms.

"And that might actually be a good thing," Marinette said, glaring at the cutout. She swears it was watching them.

"No point in arguing about it," Henry cut in, turning towards the other direction. They didn't get very far before their way was blocked by a metal gate.

"We need to power to this gate somehow," Henry said, studying the opening mechanism next to the gate. "There should be a couple switches nearby. Then maybe I can open it."

The teens nodded and split up, looking for the switches to power the door. Thankfully it didn't take long for the teens to find the three switches they needed and they went back to where Henry was waiting. Once all the teens were gathered, Henry pulled down the lever and the door open with a creak and a rumble. Henry cleared the boards away and the group spilled out into a large entrance hallway. On the wall in the middle the words 'Music Department' was written.

"Finally a place I recognize, " Henry said with a smile, looking around. "That means the exit is right over here…"

Henry leads the group around the corner, all them excited at the prospect of finally getting out of this nightmare of a studio, only for their smiles to drop. For the stairs leading to the exit was flooded with ink, making it impossible to get through.

 **PS: If you're interested in more of my Bendy works, I'm mking a fan comic that you can check out on my tumblr or deviantart account.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: For those concerned about my car accident, don't worry, I wasn't injured at all. It did shake me up for a while and it's been really stressful dealing with insurance. But playing games helped me relax and now I'm pretty much back to normal.**

 **Also, I'm still working on rewriting some of the previous chapters to work in the new updates, but they will be out soon.**

 **Chapter 9:**

"Is there another way out?" Marinette asked as the group stared at the flooded staircase.

"No," Henry shook his head as thought back. "At least, none that are easy to get to from here and I don't want to go any deeper into this place. Let's see if we can find some way to drain the ink."

Henry turned on the power switch and T\the group turned around to look around the room when Alya let out a scream. The others quickly turned to where she was pointing to see some kind of creature made of ink crawling its way toward them. It appeared to be the head and torso of a human though it had no discernible features other than a gaping maw and clawed hands.

"Get back!" Henry ordered as he stepped in front of the teens, readying his axe. The creature ignored him and reached out to grab Henry. Henry swung the axe and easily slashed through the ink, causing it to melt into ink that was absorbed into the floor. Before everyone could relax that the monster was gone, more appeared from nearby puddles. Henry did his best to keep them away from the teens, but there were too many. Alya screamed again when a monster was able to get around Henry and grab her by the ankle.

"Hold on Alya," Nino said as he grabbed her, trying to pull her back while Alya kicked the monster with her free foot. Seeing Alya in trouble and Henry continue to fight off monsters, both Marinette and Adrian came to a decision. Their respective secrets were not worth the death of their friends and family. Both sent a silent apology to their partners as they got ready.

"Plagg! Claws Out!"

"Tikki! Spots On!

The twin battle cries were followed by their respective transformations. Soon Chat Noir and Ladybug stood battle ready.

"Wh-a…" Chat and Ladybug said in shock as they took in each other. "y-you… this whole time… you…"

"Hey lovebirds!" Alya called, cutting through their daze. "Monsters now, freak out later."

Chat Noir and Ladybug looked at each other and nodded before pulling out their respective weapons. Ladybug used her yo-yo to destroy the monster holding Alya before turning to the next closest one. Chat Noir covered Henry's other side, easily cutting through the monsters with his baton. Between the two of them and Henry, soon the remaining monsters were defeated and they looked for any other threats. They were startled slightly when a nearby door opened suddenly, but there were no other monsters so everyone relaxed out of their ready stances.

"Glad that's over with for now," Chat said, putting his baton away and smiling at Ladybug. "So you've been Marinette this whole time, my Lady…"

"Umm… yeah, and your Adrian," Ladybug replied, slightly flustered. She was unsure how to react, having a hard time connecting the carefree Chat Noir with the sweet Adrian. Desperate for a distraction, Ladybug glanced at where the others were watching the exchange.

"And how come you're not freaking out about this?" Ladybug asked the whole group, though she was looking at Alya.

"I figured out your identity ages ago," Alya replied with a satisfied smirk. "No offense Marinette, but you are terrible at coming up with excuses. And the fact that Adrian is Chat Noir just makes sense now in hindsight. And it aligns perfectly with what happens to superheroes in comics."

"But this isn't a comic book!" Marinette protested, waving her arms frantically.

"It might as well be if you think about it," Chat Noir commented with a smirk.

"It took me a while longer to figure out your identity Adrian," Nino continued, his hands in his pockets. "I mean, you schedule is really strict and it has made things complicated. I actually found out by accident. I saw you running down the street when you were supposed to be at a photoshoot. And then you ducked into an ally that Chat Noir soon left over the rooftops and the pieces just fell into place."

"And what about you Uncle Henry?" Chat Noir asked the adult with curiosity. "You've had absolutely no chance to figure out our identities. Did you even know about Chat Noir and Ladybug at all?"

"I've seen a few news stories, but I really didn't know that much," Henry admitted with a shrug. "But after today and everything that's happened, I don't think anything can surprise me anymore."

"True," Chat agreed with a chuckle. "I guess we should transform back now."

"Not yet," Ladybug replied, briefly becoming her confident self again. "There could still be more of those creatures around so we should maintain our transformations as long as possible."

"As you wish my Lady," Chat replied with a dramatic bow making Marinette blush. "So where to now Uncle Henry?"

"We still need to find a way to drain the ink," Henry replied looking around and spotting tape recorder. "Maybe this will be able to give us a clue."

 _"So first, Joey installs this Ink Machine over our heads. Then it begins to leak. Three times last month we couldn't even get out of our department because the ink had flooded the stairwell. Joey's solution? An ink pump to drain it periodically. Now I have this ugly pump switch right in my office. People in and out all day. Thanks, Joey. Just what I needed. More distractions. These stupid cartoon songs don't write themselves you know."_

"I wonder what happened to you Sammy," Henry mumbled once the tape recorder had clicked off. "How did you go from this to that crazy person we heard on the other one?"

"At least we know what we need to do next," Adrian comforted his Uncle. "We just need to find Sammy's office. Do you know where that it is."

"Yeah," Henry nodded focusing at the task at hand. "It's right down the hallway that opened up."

"Okay, let's head down there, but stay close." Ladybug ordered the others. "Just in case there are more monsters down there, we need to stick together."

The others nodded and they carefully made their way down the hallway.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Chapters 4 and 5 have been updated to include the new stuff.**

 **Chapter 10:**

Henry led the way down the hallway, holding his axe carefully at the ready in case there were more of those half-formed ink monsters around. Alya and Nino were right behind him with Ladybug and Chat Noir bringing it up the rear in case any monsters attempted to surprise them from behind. Without a current threat though, a slight awkward tension filled the air between the two usually in synch superheroes.

"So now that we know each other's secret identities…" Chat finally spoke up, whispering quietly to Ladybug and flashing her a dazzling smile. "How about we go out some time to really get to understand each other without all the secrets between us?"

"Um… I… I love you!" Ladybug blurted out nervously before pulling herself together. "I mean I'd love to. But now isn't really the time for this Chat. How about we concentrate on getting out of this nightmare of a studio first and then we can work on getting to know each other."

"Sounds good to me my lady," Chat replied with satisfaction, making Ladybug blush. The two focused back on the others just in time to hear Henry say that Sammy's office was just ahead. But once they got to it, they could see the doorway blocked by another puddle of ink.

"Well there is the pump switch alright," Henry confirmed as he peered through the window of Sammy's office. "But that is one hell of a leak blocking the door though. If we can just find some way to stop that ink from flowing, maybe we can get in."

"And Maybe that tape recorder has another clue about where that switch could be," Alya said, pointing to a small shelf across from the door.

"Good eye kid," Henry complimented as he waded over and grabbed the tape. Once he was back he was back with the others he pressed play for them to hear.

 _"So I go to get my dust pans from the hall closet the other day and guess what?"_ The familiar voice of Wally Franks filled the air. _"I can't find my stupid keys. It's like they disappeared into thin air or something. All I can think of is that they must have fallen into one of the garbage cans as I was making my rounds last week. I just hope nobody tells Sammy. Because if he finds out I lost my keys again, I'm out of here."_

"Typical Wally," Henry chuckle sadly as the tape finished. "He was a great guy and janitor, but he was always a little forgetful."

"So there's probably a switch in the closet," Nino concluded, glancing over at the closet door next to them. "We just need to find those keys."

"Will they really still be there after all these years," Marinette asked, slightly skeptical.

"It's worth a shot," Adrian replied, getting a nod from the others.

"If we do find the keys it probably means he didn't get out of here before whatever madness fell upon this place," Henry sighed as they began to walk back to the main area. "I wonder what happened to him and the others… Doesn't matter. We just need to get out of here."

The others looked at each other in concern. They wanted to say something to comfort Henry but couldn't think of anything. With quiet sighs, they just focused on finding the keys. Luckily, the keys weren't hard to find as they were in one of the wastebaskets in the main room. They quickly made their way back to the closet only to be disappointed to discover there wasn't a switch housed within. Instead, they found another tape recorder.

"It feels like we're just going on a wild goose chase," Henry muttered as he grabbed the tape recorder. "But we don't really have much of a choice but to go along for the moment. Hopefully, this contains another clue."

 _"Every artistic person needs a sanctuary_." Sammy's voice filled the air _. " Joey drew has his and I have mine. To enter, you need only to know my favorite song. The drum thunders in triumph. The bass fiddle sings with deep articulation. The piano delicately calls. The drum thunders once more. Sing my song and my sanctuary will open to you."_

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Nino said in frustration when the tape finished, throwing his hands up in the air.

"It seems like some sort of code," Alya said in thought. "Like we need to play all these instruments in order or something…"

"It's exactly like a code," Ladybug agreed, turning to Henry. "Is there a place where we can find all these instruments."

"The band room," Henry replied immediately, following their logic. "It's right over this way."

As Henry lead them back to the main room, another monster appeared from a puddle and lunged towards them. Henry quickly dispatched of it with his axe and the group looked around for any other monsters. Fortunately, it seemed like that was the only one and the group continued it's way to the and room.

"This place is cool," Nino couldn't help but say in awe as they entered. The others agreed as they took in the large room and all the instruments still scattered around.

"Yeah, this place was always pretty lively," Henry agreed, briefly thinking back. "With the band trying to match the music to the cartoon and Sammy yelling whenever someone hit the wrong note… Anyway, let's see if we can find this sanctuary of his. We've been here for too long already and I don't want to risk more monsters finding us."

The others agreed and they split up into the different instruments the recorder had mentioned. First Chat and Nino banged on the drum followed by Alya plucking at the bass fiddle. Ladybug then played a few notes from the piano with the drums being played once more right after. The group waited patiently as the last note faded away, but nothing happened.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

"I don't understand," Ladybug said in frustration, as still, nothing happened after playing the instruments. "We did everything right, so why didn't it work?"

"We've got to be missing something," Chat Noir suggested, stepping away from the drum. "We should look around some more for another clue."

"Good idea," Ladybug agreed, looking around the piano and spotting another tape recorder. "Maybe this has another clue."

The group gathered around Ladybug as she picked up the tape recorder and pressed play.

 _"It may only be my second month working for Joey Drew, but I can already tell I'm going to love it here,"_ a female voice filled the air. _"People really seem to enjoy me Alice Angel voice. Sammy says she may even e as popular as Bendy some day. These past few weeks I've voiced everything from talking chairs to dancing chickens. But this is the first character I have really felt a connection with. Like she's as a part of me. Alice and I, we are going places."_

"Well that was useless," Alya sighed, as the tape finished, crossing her arms with a huff. "We still have no idea what we're supposed to do next."

"Did everyone use recordings as journals back then?" Nino wondered out loud, scratching his head.

"Probably only in animation studios," Henry replied with a light chuckle. "Paper and ink were much too important to waste. I think that was Susie Campbell. She was hired a little while before I had to leave. She was very enthusiastic about her work, though Alice never did take off like we were hoping."

"Interesting, but not helpful," Ladybug concluded putting the tape back. "We should keep looking around."

The group didn't find anything else in the band room so they left to look elsewhere. They didn't dare separate, even though that would make the searching faster. They ended up in the projection booth where Nino found another tape recorder.

 _"Every day the same strange thing happens. I'll be up here in my booth, the band will be swinging and suddenly Sammy Lawrence just comes marching in and shuts the whole thing down. Tells us all to wait in the hall. Then I hear him. He starts up my projector, and he dashes from the projector booth and down to the recording studio like the little devil himself was chasing behind. A few seconds later, the projector turns off. But Sammy, he doesn't come out for a long time. This man is weird. Crazy weird. I have half the mind to talk to Mr. Drew about all this. But then again, I have to admit, Mr. Drew has his own peculiarities."_

"That's Norman, he used to be our projectionist," Henry explained once the tape finished. "He was pretty quiet and kept to himself a lot, but he was very knowledgeable. Seemed to know everything that happened in the Studio. He used to love scaring the new hires but slipping into a room unnoticed until he made a comment."

"At least we know what we need to do now," Ladybug said, putting the tape back where they found it. "We need to have the projector running while we play the instruments."

"This seems overly complicated," Chat commented, scratching his head. "Did he really do this on a regular basis."

"Never question a musical artist," Nino replied with a smirk. "It takes a lot to create something that sounds awesome."

"Let's just do this," Alya cut in, starting up the projector. A Bendy cartoon started playing on the wall and the group began to make their way back to the band room. They had just started heading for the instruments when the projector slicked off.

"That's a really short window," Henry commented, looking up at the projector booth. "We would have to run down to get here in time, but that's too risky. We'll have to separate. I'll go start up the projector why you guys get ready to play the instruments."

"Or I have a better idea," Chat replied, pulling out his baton. He vaulted up into the booth and turned to the others with a grin. "Get ready, I'll start up the projector."

Ladybug rolled her eyes while the others just nodded dumbly. They went to their instruments while Chat turned on the projector once more. The others then played the instruments in their ordered while Chat jumped back down to join them. This time when the last note faded, a door opened up. The group grinned at each other at their success before heading inside. What they found was a fairly empty hallway with a few instruments on the shelves.

"I was expecting a little something more," Alya commented as they entered the hall. "He did call this a sanctuary after all."

"Sammy probably just came here for some peace and quiet," Henry explained while they walked. "Like you heard before, he really hates distractions..."

Henry trailed off as they turned the corner to see another pentagram under a desk. Written on the wall were the words "Sing a happy song, whistle a merry tune, wait for his arrival, he's coming very soon." The group just stared in shock for a moment before Henry came to his senses and turned the valve to the ink flow. Once Henry finished turning the valve, the group turned to leave. They were startled by a cutout briefly appearing from around the corner, but after nothing else happened after a minute, they continued to leave.

"Who is that?" Alya asked once they got to the doorway, pointing at something above them. The others looked up to see what appeared to be an ink-covered man wearing a Bendy mask staring down at them.

"That dude's giving me the creeps," Nino said, shivering slightly.

"Who are you!" Ladybug called, stepping forward. "What do you want?"

The figure didn't answer. But before Ladybug could question him further, more of the half-formed ink monsters appeared all around them. Chat Noir and Ladybug immediately pulled out their weapons and dropped into a defensive stance. Chat immediately destroyed the first one they lunged at them while Ladybug's yo-yo easily took out the one behind it. Chat then lunged forward, managing to take out three in one stroke. One was sneaking up behind him, but Ladybug took it out before it could hurt her partner. As her yo-yo was returning to her hand, another monster former right in front of Ladybug. It lunged at her, but Henry dispatched it with his axe. With the last of the monsters defeated, the group took a moment to catch their breath. When they looked back up at where the figure had been, they discovered he was gone.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

"Where did he go?" Alya wondered out loud as the group looked up at where the strange figure had been standing. She was shaking very slightly and fear, but she soon got ahold of herself.

"I don't know," Ladybug replied, glaring up at the spot before turning away. "But it doesn't matter. We need to drain the hallway and get out of here as quickly as possible."

"I agree," Henry said, hefting his axe and taking the lead. "Come on, let's get going."

The group hurried out of the band room, sticking close together and taking comfort in each other's presence. They were walking down the hallway to Sammy Lawrence's office when they noticed the stairway to the infirmary was now ink-free. They decided to check it out just to make sure there weren't any surprises, doing their best to stay safe. Instead of finding more monsters, they found another pipe, but this time the valve was missing.

"Where could it be?" Henry wondered, looking around. He pulled a switch on the wall and they heard something open behind them. The walked down another set of stairs to find what appeared to be a sewer system. Written on the wall across from them was the words "Down here, we're all sinners." They didn't really want to go forward, as there was no telling just what was in the black river, but they had no choice if they wanted any chance of escaping the studio.

Reluctantly they stepped into the inky sludge and looked for any sign of the valve. They spotted what appeared to be one of those monsters from before, though it was larger than the ones they'd seen and seemed to be wearing a hat. When it didn't attack them right away, the group slowly approached it. As soon as they got close though, the monster slunk into the ink and disappeared.

"I think that thing was holding the valve," Henry said, chopping down the planks blocking their path. "Come on, we need to get that valve."

They continued further down the sewer, passing another message on the wall which said: "The sheep will come for the slaughter." They couldn't help but shiver slightly at the ominous message. Soon they came to a small alcove with a desk and another tape recorder.

"Man, it must suck to have to work down here," Alya commented as Henry went up to play the tape recorder. "I wonder what he did to end up down here."

"I guess we'll see," Henry said as he pressed play.

 _"I love the quiet, and that's hard to come by these busy times,"_ the voice of Jack Fain echoed through the sewer tunnel. _"And yeah sure it may stink to high heaven down here. But it's just perfect for an old lyricist like me. Sammy's songs always got some bounce, but if I didn't get away once in a while, they'd never have any words to go with them. So I'll keep my mind a-singin' and my nose closed."_

"At least he was down here by choice," Nino commented with a slight smile before he realized that Henry, Ladybug, and Chat were all frozen. "Guys, what's wrong?"

"That… that monster…" Ladybug began slowly, horrified as she put the pieces together. "The one with the hat… I think he might be this Jack Fain guy…"

"That means that all those monster…" Chat continued, coming to the same horrible conclusion. "All of them that we killed… they were all people once."

"I believe your right, but we had no choice to defend ourselves," Henry concluded, putting the recorder down with shaky hands. "They would have harmed us otherwise. They might have been people once, but they're only ink monsters now. And if we have to destroy them so I can get you kids out of here safely, then I won't hesitate to do so."

Ladybug and Chat both nodded in grim agreement with Henry. No matter what, they had to get out of here, even if it felt wrong on so many levels. The group continued on quietly before finally coming to a large room with the monster that was once Jack Fain was waiting. Henry approached the monster, trying to get the valve, only for it to sink once again into the ink as soon as Henry got close. Chat spotted the monster rise in another corner of the room and threw his baton at it. The baton missed as well and returned to Chat's hand as the monster popped up in a different corner.

"This isn't working," Ladybug said as Henry came back to the front of the room. "It's not going to let us get close. We have to surprise it somehow."

While the others were trying to come up with a plan, Nino decided to flip one of the nearby switches out of curiosity. It caused a platform with a box to rise up. Flipping the other switch, the box fell back to the ground hard.

"Guys, I've got an idea," Nino called, making the box rise again. "If we can get the monster under that box, we should be able to drop the box on top of it so we can get the valve."

"Good thinking Nino," Henry said, turning toward ink monster. "Let's get it into position."

It took a few tries, but they were eventually able to corral the ink monster into the spot they needed. Nino then released the box, making fall on the monster and squishing it.

"I'm sorry we had to do that," Henry whispered apologetically to the fallen hat as he picked up the valve. "Nice hat though…"

Turning away from the ink puddle that used to be Jack Fain, Henry lead the way back through the sewer and back to the infirmary. Henry placed the valve back in its place and gave it a turn.

"Hopefully that will do it," Henry sighed, looking over at the others. "Come on, let's go drain that ink."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

The group head back to Sammy's office and they were happy to discover that the valves had seemed to have done the trick as the leak in front of Sammy's office had been stopped and the ink drained. They went inside and Henry went to the lever while the others looked around the room.

"I wonder if this still works," Nino said causally, pressing a button on the old radio and causing a tune to fill the air. "Hey what do you know, it still works."

"I'm surprised anything in this place still works," Alya murmured, running her hand over a dusty shelf. "But I guess that's how we got into this mess in the first place."

"Hey Ladybug, come check this out," Chat said, holding up a large piece of paper. "It's the blueprints for the ink machine, but what are they doing down here?"

"That is an interesting find," Ladybug agreed looking over the blueprints briefly. "But this isn't the time for trying to solve the mystery. Let's just get out of here before anything else happens. Once we're out, we can decide what we're going to do about what we've discovered in this place."

"Well the stairway should be clear now," Henry said, gesturing at the flipped lever. "So we should be able to get out easily enough now, at least, as long as there's no more of those ink monsters that."

"So let's not take any chances," Ladybug said, holding out her yo-yo at the ready. "There is a strong possibility that the monsters will still be out there trying to stop us from leaving, so we should be on guard."

"Good idea," Henry nodded as they headed to the door of the office. "I'll lead the way with Alya and Nino right behind me. You and Adrian take up the rear in case someone tries to come up from behind us."

"And our longer-range weapons will be able to help you if something does come from the front," Ladybug agreed, thinking over the plan. With that decided, the group carefully made their way toward the main hallway. They were just about there when the metal doorway slammed shut, cutting Ladybug and Chat Noir off from the others. Before they could really process what happened, the figure from before came up and hit Henry on the had the head, knocking him out. Alya started screaming as the figure turned to them.

"Rest your head, it's time for bed," The figure said as he hit both Nino and Alya, knocking them out as well. Once he was satisfied that they were out, he picked them up and began dragging them away.

"Alya! Alya!" Ladybug shouted, banging on the door as soon as she heard Alya screamed. "This isn't working. Chat! Take out this door!"

"Right," Chat nodded, taking a step back. "Cataclysm!"

Black energy swirled around his hand before he ran it over the door. Rust appeared everywhere he touched, spreading out until it covered the whole door before crumbling into a pile of dust.

"Uncle Henry!" Chat said as soon as he saw his unconscious uncle, crouching down to check on him. "He's breathing, but I can't wake him."

"Alya and Nino aren't here," Ladybug said, looking around frantically. "But it looks like whoever attacked them went down this way."

"You should go on ahead," Chat said, picking up Henry and putting his arm around his shoulder. "I'll take care of Uncle Henry. I'll catch up as soon as I can."

Ladybug looked towards where Alya and Nino disappeared to before looking back at her partner.

"I can't do that," Ladybug sighed shaking her head as Chat's ring beeped. "Your miraculous is going to run out of time soon and that will leave you completely defenseless."

"But Alya and Nino are in trouble now," Chat argued, getting a better grip on Henry and beginning to make their way down the hall. "Go help them. I can take care of myself. It isn't the first time I've faced monsters out of costume."

"It's not happening Chat," Ladybug replied firmly, putting Henry's other arm over her shoulder and helping to carry him. "It's too risky to separate and I'm not going to abandon you and Henry. We're in this together Chat, like always."

"As you wish my lady," Chat gave in with a grin. "Let's hurry, I don't like our friends being out there any more than you do."

The two moved as fast as they could, carrying Henry between them but their progress was slowed by more of those half-formed monsters would come out and attack them. And soon Adrian's transformation ended, leaving only Ladybug to fight the monsters off. As they were walking Henry began stirring, giving them hope that he would wake up soon, but then they heard the speakers overhead crackle to life.

 _"Sheep, sheep, sheep. It's time to sleep,"_ The heard a voice chant over the speaker, the same one as the recording they had heard earlier. It was Sammy Lawrence _. "Rest your head. It's time for bed. In the morning you may wake. Or in the morning you'll be dead."_

"That's not good," Adrian said, looking up at the speaker with slight fear.

"We have to get there now!" Ladybug shouted as they began running, dragging Henry between them. They just hoped and prayed that they would get there in time.

 _"Here me Bendy! Arise from the darkness! Arise and claim my offering!"_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Alya groaned as she slowly returned to consciousness. The back of her head throbbed painfully as her eyes fluttered open. When she caught sight of what was in front of her, she let out a scream, causing Nino who was tied behind her to man a little but not much more. The figure before her looked like an ink-covered man. He was wearing an old pair of overalls and was wearing the head of a Bendy cutout as a mask. A hole was cut in Bendy's teeth to allow the man to speak clearly.

"There we go now," the man, who Alya recognized his voice as Sammy Lawrence, said as he adjusted the ropes around Alya and the still unconscious Nino. "Nice and tight. We wouldn't want our sheep roaming away now, would we?"

Alya was unable to respond, just staring at Sammy in shock and fear. Briefly, she wondered what was wrong with her. She had faced down all sorts of monsters before. Doing everything from scolding to interviewing them. But with these ink creatures… there was just something about them that was more instinctually frightening then akumas.

"No, we wouldn't," Sammy continued, uncaring that his prey was unresponsive. "I must admit I am honored you came all the way down here to visit me. It almost makes what I'm about to do seem cruel, especially to those so young. But the believers must honor their savor. I must have him notice me."

"P-please…" Alya said, struggling to find her voice. "Please just let us go… I promise we won't bother you anymore."

"I can't let you go, not now," Sammy replied, dismissing Alya's plea. "For our Lord is calling to us, my little sheep. The time of sacrifice is at hand! And then, I will finally be freed from this… prison. This inky… dark… abyss I call a body. Shhhh…"

Sammy paused and tilted his head as if listening to something. A moment later, Alya could hear something thumping toward them.

"Quiet! Listen!" Sammy said, almost sounding excited to Alya as the thumping continued to get louder and closer. "I can hear him. Crawling above. Crawling! Let us begin. The ritual must be completed! Soon he will hear me… he will set us free."

Sammy turned away and walked to a side room, shutting the door behind him. Alya looked down at the ropes around her and noticed a pentagram drawn beneath her.

"Nino wake up!" Alya shouted as she began struggling with the ropes. "We have to get out of here!"

Nino moaned again but showed no sign of returning to consciousness. Alya continued to struggle when the speakers in front of her crackled to life.

 _"Sheep, sheep, sheep. It's time for sleep."_ Sammy chanted through the speaker. _"Rest your head. It's time for bed. In the morning you may wake. Or in the morning, you'll be dead."_

Alya tried to ignore him as she continues to struggle, but it got harder as Sammy's voice turned darker and more serious.

 _"Hear me, Bendy! Arise from the darkness! Arise and claim my offering! Free me! I beg you!"_

Alya jumped when she heard a rattling should, looking over to see a door in the distance rising.

 _"I summon you ink demon! Show your face and take this tender sheep!"_

Alya almost screamed when a figure came through the door only to sigh in relief when she recognized Ladybug running towards them, followed closely by Adrian and Henry.

"It's about time you got here," Alya smiled, feeling a lot more confident now that her friends were here.

"Don't worry, I'll have you out in a moment," Ladybug assured, kneeling down to untie them. They all froze though when they heard a loud noise come through the speakers.

 _"No! My Lord!"_ Sammy shouted in fear. _"Stay back! I am your prophet! I am your…"_

Sammy's voice cut off with a scream. They all looked at each other in fear.

"We have to get out of her now!" Henry said, picking up his axe that Sammy had taken and put nearby. "Move Marinette!"

Ladybug moved to the side as Henry sliced through the ropes. Alya got up with Ladybug's help while Adrian lifted up Nino.

"What's going on?" Nino murmured as he finally started to wake up, holding his hand to his head. "And why does my head hurt so much?"

"I'll explain it to you later," Adrian replied, making sure he had a good grip on his friend. "We have to go now!"

The group began to run out of the room, Henry and Ladybug easily taking out the half-formed monsters that tried to stop them. Their progress was slowed by the boards blocking their way, but Henry was chopping through them. Just as he destroyed the last one, his axe snapped in half.

"That's not good," Henry grimaced, looking at the broken axe. "Marinette, you'll have to take point. Adrian, give Nino to me. I can carry him easier than you and we need to be able to move as fast as possible."

The teenagers complied and the group moved on. They had just entered an ink flooded room when the monster Bendy rose from the ink in front of them. The group screamed and Ladybug threw her yo-yo at it. IT bounced harmlessly off the monster and "Bendy" began to charge towards them.

"Move! Move! Move!" Ladybug ordered in a panic, herding the group down a side hallway. They sprinted down it and seemed to get away, as the inky lines on the walls began to fade. As they turned a corner, "Bendy" once again appeared from a puddle of ink and lunged towards them. His claws were extended and he was about to kill Ladybug, who had briefly frozen in surprise and fright.

"Ladybug!" Adrain shouted as he acted instinctually. He shoved Ladybug out of the way, letting out a pained yelp as "Bendy's" deadly claws grazed his shoulder.

"Adrian!" Ladybug shouted, snapping out of her stupor. She turned angrily to "Bendy" and threw her yo-yo. The yo-yo wrapped around "Bendy's" feet and caused him to trip. The group used that distraction to get away, running through the first open door they could find. Ladybug slammed it shut and quickly blocked it with a nearby board. At that moment, Marinette's transformation ended, having finally used up Tikki's energy after so long. Marinette cupped her tiered kwami as she and the others sank to the floor, all exhausted from the day. Their rest was interrupted by the sound of a thunk, followed by a soup can rolling out from around the corner.

"Hello? Someone there?" Henry called, getting up and standing in front of the teens. "I know you're in here. Come out and show yourself."

Whoever was there seemed to comply as the group heard footsteps coming closer. They were shocked to see a cartoon wolf come around the corner and come to a stop in front of them.

"Boris?"

 **AN: For those that were wondering, my comic is called _The Ibk Demon's Playground._ It can be found on my Tumblr or DeviantArt accounts, which have the same name as this account.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

The two sides looked at each other in shock in weariness, wondering if the other was going to attack. A sudden banging on the door behind the humans startled them and the quickly backed away from it in fear, worried that "Bendy" was about to burst through. Luckily the door remained intact, keeping whatever was on the other side from getting to them. Boris, having snapped out of his trance, gestured for the group to follow him and started walking down the hall. The others looked each other in uncertainty, unsure if they should follow the living cartoon or if it was a trap. Boris paused when he noticed that the humans hadn't moved and once again gestured for them to follow.

"I think we should follow him," Henry decided, taking a step forward and giving the teens a reassuring grin. "I created Boris originally and if he's anything like what I remember, he won't hurt us."

"He certainly seems friendlier than anything else down here," Alya decided, her confidence returning. "I say let's go for it."

"Besides, he can't be worse then any of the other monsters down here," Nino agreed.

"Famous last words," Adrian joked, before wincing a little as the adrenaline faded and his injury reminded him it was there.

"Are you alright," Marinette immediately said, attempting to examine his injury. "Let me look."

"Maybe later, but I'm fine," Adrian said calmly, attempting to ease Marinette's worries. "Let's focus on getting somewhere safe first."

Marinette hesitated before reluctantly nodding. It was too risky to stay in their current position, but the moment they were in a safe place Marinette would make sure Adrian's injury was treated. Boris smiled once the group began to follow him and he once again began walking down the hallway. He leads them deeper into the studio and they rarely ran into any monsters. Occasionally, Boris would have them stop randomly. His ears would go up and his head would tilt to the side as if he was listening for something. The group would always become still and silent whenever Boris would do this and after a few minutes Boris would relax and they would continue on their way.

Eventually, Boris lead them into an obviously lived in area and once they were all inside, he shut a big metal door behind them. But instead of feeling trapped, the group felt safe for the first time since they had entered the studio.

"Is this has been where you've been hiding out?" Henry asked as the group began to spread out. Boris nodded happily.

"Cozy," Nino commented, sinking into a chair. "And for the most part, it seems ink free which is nice."

"Can you not talk?" Alya asked, finally voicing her curiosity. Boris just shook his head sadly and began making gestures with his hands, but the group couldn't figure out what he was trying to say.

"All this getting to know you is great and all, but are we forgetting something important," Plagg interrupted, hovering worriedly around Adrian's injured shoulder. "We've got a man down over here!"

"You're just being dramatic," Adrain tried to assure his kwamii. "It's just a scratch. And it almost sounds like you're worried Plagg."

"Of course I'm worried," Plagg scolded, waving his arms. "That "scratch" came from a creature overflowing with corrupted magic! It could have effects we don't even know about. We have to get it cleaned, now!"

"I'm on it!" Marinette said, coming over and helping roll up Adrian's sleeve. "I'll need some water, clean rags, and bandages."

Boris saluted and began walking down a hallway with Henry tagging along to help him. Alya and Nino just stood nearby to offer moral support to their friend.

"You are a cute little thing aren't you," Alya commented attempting to touch Plagg. "How are you flying?"

"Hands off the goods sister," Plagg said, evading Alya's hand. "And I'm a kwamii, just chalk full of magical power. I give Adrian the power to destroy anything he touches, so flying is a piece of cake. Or camembert."

"What do you mean by corrupted magic?" Marinette asked while she started cleaning Adrian's shoulder with a rag and water Boris had brought back.

"I'm not sure what it is exactly," Plagg said, his nose crinkling in disgust. "This place is full of all different sorts of magic all smashed together and twisted to bring those abominations to life. Just being in this place makes my skin crawl."

"That's why you were squirming the whole time we were here," Adrian said in realization. "If you thought it was so bad, why didn't you say anything?"

"It wasn't too bad until the machine was turned on," Tikki explained, floating up next to Plagg. "And at that point, it was too late to escape this place easily, so there wasn't much we could do."

"If the magic is corrupted, shouldn't I be able to purify it," Marinette wondered as she wrapped Adrian's now clean wound. "Since I do something similar with the akuma's after all."

"It should be possible in theory," Tikki admitted, tapping her chin in thought. "But I wouldn't attempt it until we have a more clear idea about what magic went into this place. If you ended up only purifying part of it, you'll make everything unstable and possibly volatile."

"Meaning you could bring the whole place crumbling down on top of us," Plagg stated bluntly. "If you really want to, you could attempt a purification on one of the monsters, but I doubt it'll do anything. Just as you need to find the source of an akuma first, you would need to find the source of the magic here before you could have any effect."

"Isn't the source of the magic that machine we turned on" Nino asked.

"I think it was initially," Tikki replied. "Or at least the host of the magic, but it's not anymore. It could be anywhere now."

"I guess that's pointless then," Marinette sighed, leaning back once her work was done.

"It was still a good idea," Adrian complemented, rolling his sleeve down. "And you have amazing first aid skills."

"But I better not have to use them again anytime soon," Marinette warned her tone a mix of playful and concern. "You really shouldn't have done that Adrian…"

"Nonsense. I'll always do everything I can to protect you, my lady," Adrian smiled, causing Marinette to blush. Alya coughed subtly to remind the two that they were there."

"So now that we know your big secret, why don't you tell us about how you became superheroes," Alya suggested with barely concealed excitement.

"Stories should wait until tomorrow," Henry cut in, much to Alya's disappointment. "It's been a long hard day and we should all rest and regain our energy."

The rest of the others agreed and they all began exploring the area for places to rest and things to eat.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

The group ended up staying in Boris' safe house for a few days, just recovering their energy and coming to terms with the situation. Henry especially had a hard time once he had time to really think about what they went through. His coworkers and friends had possibly all been turned into monsters, most likely by his former best friend and partner. It was a lot to take in and Henry needed some time to himself to morn.

The others took less time to recover, as they didn't really have any personal attachments to the studio or the people that used to work here. So they ended up passing the time in sharing stories as Marinette and Adrian got to fully understand both sides of their partners. They also played a lot of cards with Boris. Even though the cartoon wolf couldn't speak, they learned to understand him pretty well and they enjoyed being in his company. Henry joined them in playing cards once he was able to recover somewhat. He was really good and he and Boris often won their games.

It was another quiet morning. Most of the teens were in the main room with Boris, sitting at the table while they waited for Henry to wake up. Adrian had excused himself earlier and was in the bathroom, standing in front of the sinks while Plagg floated nearby.

"This place is the absolute worst!" Plagg complained, sighing dramatically. "The lodgings are terrible and I haven't had any camembert in ages! I don't know how much longer I can survive without my camembert!"

Adrian smiled slightly as Plagg continued to ramble. He knew Plagg was just saying these things to distract himself from his discomfort and his worry for Adrian. Adrian tuned out his kwamii as he rolled up his sleeve and unwrapped the bandages around his shoulder to his inspect his wound. The cuts from "Bendy's" claws were healing pretty well, though he was pretty sure there was going to be a slight scar. His real worry was the black veins that had appeared around the cuts and were slowly spreading.

"It's not going to get better is it," Adrian sighed, putting the bandages back in place.

"Not as long as we're stuck in this corrupted sinkhole," Plagg replied quietly, sounding uncharacteristically serious. "That abomination managed to infect you with its twisted magic. If we were away from this place, my magic and your own body would be able to fight it, but as long as we're here and surrounded by all this magic, the infection will only grow. I don't even know what effects it'll have on you."

"Will it affect my transformation into Chat Noir?" Adrian asked, glancing over at Plagg.

"It's hard to say," Plagg shrugged, glaring at where the marks were hidden. "The magic is so twisted and corrupted it's hard to predict what it'll do. It might have no effect, it might make you stronger, or it might just stop you from being able to transform. Most likely though, transforming will only cause the infection to spread. So it's best to keep from transforming at all cost."

"I may not have a choice," Adrian murmured, looking over at the doorway. "I have to help make sure that we all get out of here safely."

"Then tell them what's happening to you!" Plagg insisted, floating directly in front of Adrian's face. "At least tell your precious Ladybug. If she knew what might happen, she'd stop you from transforming."

"Which is why I can't tell them," Adrian replied firmly. "We have enough problems as it is to worry outside of what might happen to me. Please Plagg, let's keep just keep this to ourselves."

"Alright," Plagg sighed in defeat, his ears drooping. "But the minute you get any worse, I'm telling them."

"Deal," Adrian said with a smile, though Plagg didn't return it. They left the bathroom and back to the main room, where Henry had now joined them.

"Good, everyone's here," Henry said once Adrian walked in. "I think it's time we leave continue to try and escape this place."

Everyone agreed with Henry. Even though they were safe in the hideout, they couldn't stay here forever. They had to get out, even if it was dangerous. Henry went over to the door and was about to open it when he noticed that the lever was missing.

"Hey buddy, have you seen that lever handle around?" Henry asked, turning to Boris. "Or are you holding it hostage until I make something to eat?"

Henry could always tell what Boris was thinking, far better than anyone else. It was almost as if they had known each other for years. Boris gave Henry a nod.

"I thought so," Henry said with a chuckle, turning to find some soup cans. "See what we've got."

It a few minutes, but Henry found several soup cans and heated them up on the stove. Once it was ready, Boris made sure that they all ate. They reluctantly complied, feeling a little tired of bacon soup after eating it for several days, but not having any other options. Besides, who knows when they'll have another time when they'll be able to just sit and eat. Once Boris was satisfied with the amount of food they had eaten, he pulled out a toolbox which Henry opened to find the handle. He put the handle in the door and opened it.

"I doubt we'll be able to come back once we leave," Henry said as everyone gathered around the door. "So don't wander off."

"We should probably transform," Marinette said in thought. "But I don't know if it's the best solution, because if we run out of time it'll be hard for our kwamii's to recharge quickly."

"We could just wait until we actually run into danger," Adrain suggested, hiding his worry. "That way, we don't waste time."

"It's a good thought, but I don't know if we should take that risk. Not when there are so many monsters lurking around and how quickly they attack." Marinette replied, thinking it over. "I know, how about one of us transform at a time, just to be safe and the other won't transform until necessary. I'll transform first, alright?"

"Alright," Adrian agreed reluctantly. He didn't like the thought of Marinette being in the line of fire without him, but there wasn't another choice.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said as she once more transformed into Ladybug. Seeing that everyone was ready, Henry lead the way out of the safe house with Ladybug right beside him. The rest of the teens and Boris following right behind them


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

"Let's see what's out there," Henry commented as he leads the way out the safehouse with Boris and Ladybug right beside him. "Don't wander off, there are still all sorts of monsters out here and we don't want anyone caught alone."

The teens nodded in agreement and the group began walking down the hallway, keeping a careful eye on any ink puddle they passed. They rounded a corner, seeing the doorway in front of them was pitch black.

"Looks really dark up ahead," Henry commented, eyeing the doorway with suspicion. "Let's find some light."

The group looked around and Nino found a large flashlight which he passed onto Henry. Alya and Nino took out their phones, using their lights as well. They began walking through the darkened hallway, sticking close together and making sure nothing snuck up in them. While they were walking, Henry noticed how frightened Boris was.

"Don't be scared, Boris," Henry comforted, patting Boris' shoulder. "I'll keep the light near you so you don't get lost."

Boris gave Henry a nervous smile and nodded. Satisfied, Henry continued walking through the hallway with the others following close behind. They passed by all sorts of machinery and empty shelves before a noise in the ceiling made everyone pause.

"Did you hear that?" Henry said, moving the light around attempting to find the source. The teens nodded while Boris just looked around nervously. "Yeah. Me neither."

No one laughed at Henry's attempt at a joke, though they appreciated the effort. They continued on before coming to a door that was jammed shut. Ladybug tried to pry it open without any success.

"Another dead end," Henry sighed in frustration, looking around for any other options. "I don't see any other way through. Do you guys have any other ideas?"

"I could always use my lucky charm for something useful," Ladybug said, readying her yo-yo. "It'll make my time run out sooner, but we need to keep moving."

"We'll only do that if we have to," Henry said, putting his hand over the yo-yo. "But we should save your special powers until we really need it. Do you have any ideas, Boris? You've been here a lot longer than us."

Boris nodded and took the flashlight, crawling into a nearby vent. After waiting a few moments, the door opened with a groan.

"Should we wait for Boris to come back?" Ladybug asked, looking at the vent.

"I think he wanted us to go on ahead," Henry replied with confidence. He couldn't really explain it, but Henry just knew what Boris wanted. Maybe it was because he originally created Boris, but Henry had the feeling it was something else. "I know he'll be able to meet up with us and we shouldn't stay here any longer. Let's move on."

The teens glanced at then vent but reluctantly moved on, trusting Henry's understanding of Boris as well as the wolf himself. Walking down another hallway, the group came into a large room. In the center was a giant waterfall with the sign saying "Heavenly Toys" over it. Scattered around the room were a couple of couches, giant plushies and lots of Bendy cutouts.

"Wow," Henry said in awe, mouth gaping as he looked around. "I don't remember any of this."

"How were they able to fit all this underground?" Nino wondered out loud. "You think there would be all sorts of structural problems having something like this down here."

"Really?" Alya said, looking at Nino in disbelief and amusement. "We've been chased by ink monsters and met a living cartoon and you're worried about the architecture."

"I guess you've got a point," Nino agreed with a slight laugh. "Why should anything make sense here."

The group all snickered as they walked past the waterfall and up the stairs behind it. They came into what appeared to be the toy factory. They could see the door they needed to go through to proceed, but unfortunately, it was behind several shelves.

"Why is there always something blocking the door?" Henry sighed, looking at the shelves blocking their way. "Gotta be a way through."

The group looked around the room, finally getting the toy machine running after taking out the toys jamming the gears. They were able to move the racks so they could get to the door as well as the workbench beside it. Alya was curious by an ink blob in the shape of a Bendy doll and poked it out of curiosity, causing it to change shape.

"Guys, check this out," Alya smiled in surprise and went to poke it again, but Ladybug stopped her.

"Alya, you need to be more careful," Ladybug reminded her. "The ink is full of corrupted magic and we shouldn't be messing with it."

"Right, sorry," Alya apologized, stepping back and getting a nod of satisfaction from Ladybug. Seeing another recorder on the workbench, the group gathered around it to listen to what it might say.

 _"I don't be seein' what the big deal is,"_ Shawn Flynn's accented voice filled the air. _"So what if I went and painted some of those Bendy dolls with a crooked smile? That's no reason for Mr. Drew to be flyin' off the handle at me. And if he really wants to be helpful, he could be tellin' me what I'm to be doin' with this warehouse I got full of that angel whatchamacallit. Not a scrap of that mess be a-sellin'! Probably have to melt it all down to be rid of it all."_

"Joey was always a perfectionist," Henry mumbled as the recorder clicked off. "And he would never admit if he was the one making a mistake… Doesn't matter now… We need to keep going."

The group went through the door into a room full of Alice Angel memorabilia. Cautiously, they walked farther into the room, studying all stuff displayed around them. They didn't get to look around for very long before the majority of the lights clicked off. The group was instantly on alert, gathering closer together to make sure they didn't lose anyone in the darkness. All the tv monitors around them flicked to life, displaying Alice Angel's face as her theme song began to fill the room.

 _"I'm the cutest little angel, sent from above…"_

 **AN: For** ** _HeliX Sol_** **and anyone else that's wondering, I'm not including most of the easter eggs and secrets because it wouldn't really fit into the story. As the player, you usually have to go out of the way to unlock them and it wouldn't make sense for Henry and the others to come across them in normal circumstances. So unless it's something that I think is really important to the story or its something that they could come across easily, I'll most likely be leaving it out so I can focus on moving the plot along.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

 _"I've got a bright little halo, and I'm filled with love… I'm Alice Angel! I'm the hit of the party…"_

The song continued to echo through the dimly lit room, the group watching the various screens with suspicion. The teens, in particular, had seen enough dramatic entrances to know that a villain was about to make themselves known. Both Henry and Ladybug got their weapons ready, waiting for the possible threat.

 _"I ain't no flapper, I'm a classy dish, and boy, can this girl sing…"_

A light turned on behind one of the glass displays, spotlighting a door with Alice Angel's name on it. Everyone immediately focused on it, expecting her to arrive at any moment.

 _"This gal can grant your every wish…"_

 _ **"I'M ALICE ANGEL!"**_ A figure, that the group could only assume was Alice, slammed against the glass display as she shouted, making several members of the group jump in surprise. They barely had time to take in her half deformed face before she screamed and slammed her fists on the glass, the lights going out at the same time. In the blackness, they could hear the glass shatter, meaning "Alice" was probably in the room with them. Ladybug kept a firm grip on her yo-yo as she tried to listen for any indication of where her foe might be. It was time like this that Ladybug wished she had Chat's night vision. Speaking of her partner, she just knew he was probably getting to transform.

"Not yet Adrian," Ladybug whispered to where she knew he was standing. "We don't know what she wants yet. Wait to transform until we need it."

"I see you there," Alice finally spoke, her voice seeming to come from all around them. " **New flies in my endless web.** Come along now. Let's see if you're worthy to **walk with angels**."

As her voice faded away the lights came back on, leaving only the smashed glass as a reminder that she was there. The group just stood there for a moment, trying to calm down from the scare and process what just happened.

"Well, she certainly put on quite the show didn't she," Henry eventually joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"She was quite the _angel of the stage_ wasn't she," Adrian joked back, grinning at his uncle.

"Though it seems she may have _fallen_ for us," Henry replied his own smile widening. Nino and Alya just burst into laughter at the banter and just the general ridiculousness of the situation.

"I guess we now know where Adrian gets his sense of humor," Ladybug groaned dramatically, though it was obvious that she was barely holding back her own laughter.

"Well, I wouldn't be have been much of a cartoonist if I didn't know how to make people laugh," Henry replied, before becoming serious again. "Come on, we need to keep going."

The others calmed down and followed after Henry. They came to split hallway with a sign pointing to the left saying "The Demon" and pointing to the right saying "The Angel". The group stopped between the two, looking down each path to try and figure out which way to go.

"Do you have any idea which way is the way to go?" Ladybug asked Henry, unable to discern which would be the better option.

"No, none of this was here when I left," Henry replied with a slight shake of his head. "And I'm a little concerned if these signs indicate more than just a path name as if it might affect which monster we come across. But I might just be over thinking it."

"Well, isn't there the saying "the demon you know" ?" Adrian suggested, gesturing to the path on the left. "At this point, it seems like we have a pretty good idea of how that "Bendy" monster behaves, but from that brief introduction with "Alice", she can be a bit unpredictable. If the paths really do dictate which monster we come across, I rather it is the one we know how to deal with."

The group eventually went along Adrian's suggestion, unable to find a reason against it, and went towards the demon path. AS soon as they crossed the threshold, they heard a loud banging sound. Backing up quickly, they saw that the way to the angel path had been cut off. Unsure what to make of it, they just went back to the demon path and pressed on. They came to a room filled with ink and began wading through it.

Adrian felt his wound react as soon as he stepped into the ink. It seemed to warm and began pulsing slightly. He felt a deep sense of foreboding and could tell Plagg had noticed the reaction as well, based on the way the Kwamii was glaring at the wound from his spot on Adrian's shoulder. Adrian tried to get out of the ink as quickly as possible, but then Nino spotted a tape recorder on a chair in the corner. And since Adrian couldn't leave without drawing attention to himself, he had no choice but to gather around it with the others.

 _"There's nothing wrong with dreaming,"_ the voice of Joey Drew filled the air as soon as Henry pressed play. _Wishing for the impossible is just human nature. That's how I got started, Just a pencil and a dream. We all want everything without having to lift a finger. They say you just have to believe. Belief can make you succeed. Belief can make you rich. Belief can make you powerful. Whit with enough belief, you can even cheat death itself. Now that… is a beautiful, and positively silly thought."_

"He always did have a silver tongue," Henry said bitterly as the tape finished. "Talking big and inspiring people to do exactly what he wanted."

"But I thought you were friends," Adrian said, surprised by his uncle's anger.

"So did I," Henry said with a sigh. "But now I'm wondering if I was just another person he manipulated. And seeing everything that's happened here, it makes me wonder if I ever knew him at all."

Adrian didn't know what to say, so he just gave his uncle a comforting pat on the back. With one last glare at the tape recorder, Henry leads the group out of the room of and into the next hallway.

 **AN: Don't worry _TheCartoonist127_ I have plans for Adrian and Marinette. Such wonderful evil plans...**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

As soon as they were out of the ink, Adrian discreetly checked his wound. He was relieved to see that the black veins hadn't spread, but he still didn't like how it had reacted to the ink. He vowed to himself to avoid large puddles of ink as much as possible. He knew it was a hallow goal, but he was still going to do his best. None of the others noticed as they continued down the hall and through another door. As they walked through the next hallway, a Bendy cutout leaned out from around the corner, startling the group. Cautiously, Henry and Ladybug checked around the corner only to find Boris waiting for them.

"Boris! You scared me to death!" Henry said, relieved that they had found the cartoon wolf. Knowing that there wasn't any danger, the others followed him around the corner. "Don't suppose you found anything we can use to protect ourselves with?"

Boris nodded happily and handed a pipe he had found to Henry.

"This will do," Henry said, giving the pipe a few test swings. Satisfied that it would work, Henry opened the next door and lead the group through. Inside they found a room with shelves full of all sorts of plushies lying on top of them. Henry couldn't help picking up one of the Bendy plushies and giving a squeeze, making it squeak. Boris guided the group past the shelves and they kept an eye on all the ink puddles, but nothing attacked them. They soon came to a closed metal door with a metal fuse box next to it, which had two blinking lights.

"Looks like to open this, we're going to need to throw two levers at once," Henry said as he looked the door over, looking around he spotted one lever nearby. "You guys stay with this one. I'll find the other."

"I should come with you Uncle Henry," Adrian suggested as the others stood by near the switch. "It isn't a good idea for you to go alone."

"I'm sure it's just around the corner, I'll be fine," Henry assured, hefting his pipe confidently. "I have a way to protect myself just in case there is something and we want to save your superpowers until we need them. It'll only take a minute, I promise."

"I don't like it either Adrian, but it's our best option right now," Ladybug admitted, reasoning with her partner and crush. "We have the bigger group here and we need to be able to protect them if something happens."

"I'm perfectly fine taking care of myself you know," Alya protested, though she wasn't being serious. As much as she hated being the damsel in distress right now, there wasn't much she could do against the ink creatures and there just weren't enough weapons to go around. She desperately wished she could become Rena Rouge so she could help out, but she had only been a temporary superhero and could do nothing to help now. She felt so useless.

"I know Alya," Ladybug smiled comfortingly at her friend, guessing what Alya was thinking, before turning back to Adrain. "Trust Henry okay. We've seen him take down ink monsters on his own already, he'll be fine."

Adrian sighed but nodded in agreement, knowing this was the best option. Henry gave the group a reassuring smile before heading off down the hall. He had barely disappeared around the corner before the group heard a commotion. Adrian and Ladybug sprinted down the hall and turned the corner, ready to fight whatever had attacked Henry. But Henry was alone in the hallway, holding his pipe firmly as he watched a puddle of ink sink into the floor.

"What happened?" Adrian asked, both him and Ladybug relaxing at seeing that Henry was okay.

"Something that looked like one of the Butcher Gang pooped out of the poster and attacked me," Henry replied, gesturing to the hole in the wall. "It took a lot more hits to beat it than the searchers, but I managed it just fine. I told you I could take care of myself."

Ladybug and Adrian couldn't help but laugh slightly as Henry struck a heroic pose. He tried to twirl the pipe around in his hand but only ended up dropping it, making Ladybug and Adrian laugh harder.

"Well, it seems you have everything well in hand," Ladybug said once she calmed down, though she was still smiling. "I'll go tell the others and we'll pull the switch on my count."

"Sounds great," Henry said, picking up the pipe and going next to the switch. Ladybug went back to the others while Adrian decided to stick with Henry just to be safe.

"Ready!" Ladybug shouted once she was at the switch. "1..2..3!"

They flipped the switches and the doors groaned before opening. The group gathered back together before heading through. Walking pas all sorts of moving machinery, they came to a balcony overlooking an elevator. Seeing no other way to go, the group went down and entered the elevator. Nino had just barely stepped inside when the doors closed behind him and the elevator began to move down on its own.

 _"You're so interesting…_ _ **so different**_ _,"_ Alice's voice came from speakers above them as the elevator moved. _"I have to say_ _ **I'm an instant fan.**_ _Looks like you've got a date with an angel! Come to me now. Level Nine._ _ **Just follow the screams.**_ _"_

The group looked at each other in worry and slight fear. They did not like the sound of that, but they didn't have any other choice but to go along for now. Especially while they were in an elevator that Alice apparently had control over. The Elevator soon came to a stop on level nine.

 _"Come on, step out of your cage."_ Alice encouraged as the doors slid open. _"There's a_ _ **whole twisted world**_ _out here."_

Sticking close together, the group stepped out of the elevator to face whatever might be waiting for them.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20:**

Despite their worries, there was no immediate danger in the room the elevator had brought them to. They walked down the stairs and found a tape recorder on the shelf. Henry picked it up and pressed play.

 _"These blasted elevators…"_ came the gravelly voice of Thomas Connor. _"Sometimes they open… sometimes they don't… sometimes they come… sometimes they keep on going to hell and back. I keep telling these people, if Mister Joey Drew keeps cutting corners like this, someone's sure to end up falling to their death. And it sure ain't gonna be me. I'm taking the stairs."_

"If the elevator was so bad then, I wonder how bad it is now," Nino thought out loud. None of the others replied, unwilling to think about just how much danger they had been by taking the elevator. Moving on, the group crossed a bridge to a large metal door under a "She's quite a gal" sign. As soon as they had gathered around, the doors began to slowly open with a creak. Boris ended up running ahead as soon as he could fit through, surprising the others. Plagg at the same time dove into Adrian's shirt to hide though Adrian was the only one that noticed.

"Boris! Wait!" Henry shouted, taking off after the cartoon wolf. The others began following behind a moment later. They came around the corner only to stop at the horrific sight before them. Right in front of them was a Boris, strapped to a table with its chest ripped open. The Boris they knew was standing in front of it, staring at the dead Boris with an unreadable expression. The sight was only worse when they realized the room was filled with the corpses of dead toons.

When the group had encountered the first dead Boris back up on the main floor, they hadn't been sure what to make of it. Sure it was a gruesome sight, but for the most part, they didn't accept it as real. And of course, everything else that happened since then had kind of drove it out of their minds. But now with everything they'd seen and what was displayed right before them, the truth finally hit them. Each and everybody on display had once been a living toon, only to have been killed in such a torturous fashion. All of them paled as they came to this realization and Nino ended up vomiting over the side of the railing.

"I want you kids to head back to the elevator," Henry said as he continued staring around the room, his voice shaking slightly from repressed grief and anger. "Take Boris with you and wait for me there. I don't want you to have to see anything else that might be here. I should be back soon."

For once, Alya didn't feel like arguing. Instead, she just grabbed Boris' arm and gently guided him and Nino out of the room. Adrian and Ladybug didn't budge from their spot next to Henry though.

"You don't have you face this alone," Ladybug declared, tearing her eyes away from the sight in front of her. "We're here to help."

"We're with you Uncle Henry," Adrian added, standing firmly next to him. "Besides, we're superheroes. We can handle anything. Even things like this."

"I don't suppose I can talk you into staying with the others," Henry said ruefully, knowing the two were shaking their heads even before he looked at them. "Alright then, let's get this over with."

The three walked past the Boris corpse and onto a thin walkway over a lake of ink.

 _"Look around,"_ Alice through the speakers as they carefully made their way across. _"It took so many of them to make me so beautiful. Anything_ _ **less than perfect**_ _was left behind. I had to do it. She made me."_

Henry's grip tightened on the pipe in anger. How could she talk so casually about murdering? Henry took a deep breath and did his best to shake those thoughts from his head. There was nothing he could do for them now and getting angry wouldn't help. He had to stay calm and focused so he could get the kids out of this nightmare.

Ladybug and Adrian were also affected by the way Alice spoke, but they were more horrified then angry. Despite some close calls, no one had ever been seriously hurt during their battles with the akumas. And most akumas never set out to seriously hurt anybody. But to be against creatures that had no problem tearing watch other apart, it shook them more than like to admit.

The three of them came to one corner of the room with a tape recorder on the desk. Moving almost automatically, Henry picked it up and pressed play.

 _"Who would have thought? Me having lunch with Joey Drew!"_ came Susie Campbell's voice. _Apparently, times are tougher than I thought. For a moment there, I thought I'd be stuck with the check. But I gotta say, he wasn't at all what I expected. Quite the charmer. He even called me Alice. I liked it."_

Henry numbly put the recorder back on the desk. Now that he heard her voice again, he couldn't help but compare how similar Alice's voice sometimes sounded to it. He wanted to just think it was a coincidence since she had been Alice's voice actor after all. But a part of him knew that it wasn't a coincidence. That Susie was likely another victim of Joey's madness, another ink monster out to get them. Ladybug and Adrian had similar thoughts to Henry, but, while they thought it was tragic, were more worried about Henry. He knew these people once after all and it must be horrible to be constantly reminded of what happened to them.

"Let's keep going," Henry said, focusing back on the task on hand. He couldn't dwell on what he couldn't change and it wouldn't help to grieve anymore right now, not when they were surrounded by so much danger. "Let's see what "Alice" has to say?"

Ladybug and Adrain nodded in agreement and followed along after Henry, hoping desperately that they could somehow make this right. They were superheroes, they've saved people and fixed bad situations before. There had to be something they could do. There had to be…


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21:**

Henry, Ladybug, and Adrian left the ink and corpse-filled room and went down a metallic hallway. They turned the corner to see Alice with a toon, who shared a resemblance to Charley from the Butcher gang, strapped to a table. From the sparks flying and Charley's cry of pain, it appeared that Alice was electrocuting it. The three winced in fear and sympathy for the poor toon, but they tried their best to hide their feelings as the approached the glass wall.

"Hmm. Now we come to the question…" Alice stated, momentarily stopping her work to address her three visitors though her primary focus was on Henry. " **Do I kill you? …Do I tear you apart to my heart's delight?** The choices of the beautiful **are unbearable.** How's a girl to choose? **Take this little freak for instance!** "

Alice jabbed a finger in Charley's direction. The three looked briefly over at the trapped toon, having a pretty good idea of the gruesome fate that awaited it, before focusing once more on Alice.

"He crawled in here…" Alice continued in anger, glaring at the malformed toon in disgust. "trailing his **tainted ink** to my door! It could have **touched me**! It could have **pulled me back!** Do you know what it's like? Living in the dark puddles?"

As Alice said that, her eyes locked with Adrian's and there was the tiniest hint of a smirk. _She knew!_ Adrian realized with horror, resisting the urge to cover his shoulder. She somehow knew that he had been infected with the ink and she was taking pleasure in the fact that he was going to become an ink creature like her. The silent exchange only lasted a few seconds, so neither Ladybug or Henry noticed as Alice focused back on Henry.

"It's a buzzing, **screaming well of voices!** Bits of your mind, swimming… like… like **fish in a bowl!** " Alice continued as Adrain had to repress a shudder at what she was describing. "The first time I was born from its' inky womb, I was a wiggling, **pussing, shapeless slug.** The second time… well… It made me an angel! I will not let the **demon touch me again**. I'm so close now. So… **almost perfect**."

Ladybug and Henry exchanged confused glances at Alice's strange behavior. It was almost like she was just rambling and had forgotten they were there. Adrian meanwhile, couldn't help but put his hand on his injured shoulder, wondering if this was the fate that awaited him. If he was going to lose himself to the madness of the ink.

"Yes, I will **spare you,** " Alice concluded, focusing once again on the three standing before her. " **For now. Better yet…** I'll even let you ascend and lave this place. If you will do a few eensey weensey little favors for me first. Return to the lift **my little errand boy** and take your sidekicks with you. We have work to do!"

Alice pressed a button on her control panel, causing a metal covering to drop over the glass wall. The three winced again as they once more heard the toon's cries of pain and Henry quickly herded to two teens out of there. Henry was glad that the twisted Alice seemed more focused on him than the teens with him. It meant he had a better chance of getting them out safely, even if he might not make it.

The three went through the corpse room as quick as they dared, wanting to put as much distance as they could between them and the twisted angel as they could. They had just exited the large metal doors, which then closed behind them at the same time a gate lowered across the bridge, blocking their path.

 _"_ _ **My machines are hungry.**_ _"_ Alice's voice came over the speakers. _"Gather me some spare parts. You'll find the gears I need on level K and here's_ _ **a little something**_ _to help you."_

A panel flipped around near them, revealing a wrench. Henry passed his pipe to Adrian and took the wrench for himself. The panel flipped back around and the gate in front of the bridge rose, allowing them to leave. The three quickly went across the bridge and joined up with the others in front of the elevator. Nino still looked a little pale but was otherwise alright.

"So what's that all about?" Alya asked, referring to the demand she just heard and gesturing to the wrench in Henry's hand.

"Alice wants us to do some "favors" for her," Henry explained, a hint of mistrust in his voice. "If we do them, she says she'll let us use the elevator to get out of here."

"You don't believe her do you?" Alya asked in disbelief.

"No," Henry, Ladybug, and Adrain all said in unison.

"She was such a cliché villain, monologue, and everything," Adrian said, attempting to use humor to mask his real worries. "She might as well have just said "I am going to betray you" and be done with it."

"True, but she still might be our best bet of getting out of here," Henry reluctantly admitted.

"We can always try and find another way out ourselves," Ladybug suggested, thinking over their options. "We've managed to get by pretty well on our own. And with mine and Adrian's powers, we should be able to get out of here one way or another."

"But who knows what else is wandering around here that might even be more dangerous," Henry reasoned. "And we can't guarantee we'll find another exit before someone else gets hurt and more seriously than Adrian was. No, we have to do what Alice wants and take that risk."

"Alright," Ladybug finally gave in, the others reluctantly agreeing as well. They didn't trust Alice, but she really was their best option right now to get out.

"Should we still be taking the elevator though?" Nino asked, glancing over at it where Boris was waiting patiently for them. "I mean it does seem dangers like that one guy said in the recording. Maybe we should stick to the stairs?"

"Normally, I'd say yes, but I don't think we can," Henry replied after thinking it over. "We're too large of a group and if Bendy or one of those other ink creatures caught us on the stairs, we might not be able to properly get away in time."

Finding truth in Henry's logic, the group followed Boris onto the elevator.

 **AN: There's a reason why Alice is so focused on Henry and ignoring the others, at least for now.**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Special thanks to** _ **Decipher the Cipher FMSKHU**_ **whose comment inspired this chapter.**

 **Chapter 22:**

 _"There are so few rules to our rules now,"_ Alice spoke to the group as the entered the elevator. _"_ _ **So little truths.**_ _But there is one rule we all know and respect down here._ _ **Beware the Ink Demon.**_ _Stay out in the open for too long and he will find you. For if you see him,_ _ **you'd better hide.**_ _If you don't, well, I enjoyed our date. Now let us begin our work…"_

"Man what a creep," Alya commented, as the doors closed and the elevator began to rise. "I'm glad I didn't meet her in person."

Ladybug, Adrain, and Henry knew what Alya was going for, but they weren't able to appreciate her attempt at lightening the mood. They had met the twisted angel and seen the horrible things she had done. It wasn't something they could really joke about. The elevator ride passed by in silence after that before the doors finally opened on level K.

 _"Have you met him?_ _ **The Ink Demon?**_ _"_ Alice once more spoke as Henry stepped out of the elevator. _"They say he hears everything. Every creak of the floor._ _ **Every rustle of paper.**_ _I wouldn't run so fast if I were you. You never know what will_ _ **draw him in.**_ _"_

None of the group had a chance to really react to Alice's taunting warning as a searcher emerged from a puddle and began crawling towards them. Ladybug stepped forward, swinging her yo-yo in preparation to get rid of it.

"Marinette, wait," Henry ordered quickly, stopping Ladybug from attacking. He quickly stepped forward and began leading the searcher around the room.

"Henry, what are you doing?" Ladybug questioned, unable to get a clear shot because of Henry.

"You're magic fairy thing… Tikki… I think," Henry began as he dodged the searcher lunging at him.

"We're called kwamiis get it right!" Plagg injected having finally come out of Adrian's shirt, but the others ignored him.

"She says that you can purify monsters right?" Henry continued, barely missing the searcher's claws. "Can you try and purify this searcher?"

"Yeah, but Tikki said it probably wouldn't work," Ladybug tried to reason. "Not without the source of the magic. I don't even know if I could purify it with my yo-yo."

"But you can try right," Henry pleaded, finally getting some distance between him the searcher. "Please, Marinette."

"Alright, I'll give it a try." Ladybug agreed, seeing how important this was. She tapped the top of the yo-yo, opening up the hidden panel and revealing it's purifying glow. She began to swing it around while saying, "Time to de-evilize."

She launched her yo-yo at the searcher, easily catching in the yo-yo's string. Since the searcher was too large to be absorbed into the yo-yo, the light brightened instead and covered the searcher in a white glow. It was hard to see what was happening in the light, but it seemed like the searcher was changing. After a few moments passed, the light faded and the yo-yo returned to Ladybug as her transformation ended.

The searcher looked a lot different, though it was still obviously an ink creature. Its ink seemed to be a less drippy and a lot paler, almost a gray color now. It now had legs and a more humanoid looking body all around. It looked around with glowing yellow eyes, obviously both scared and confused.

"What's going on?" The searcher asked with a female voice, trembling and backing into a corner. "It had been so dark… So many voices…"

"Hey… Hey… it's alright…." Henry said calmly, slowly approaching the searcher. "My name is Henry. Do you remember what yours was?"

"It was… Emily… I… was Emily… I used to… work in the toy department…" the searcher, now named Emily, replied slowly before her gaze snapped to Henry's face and her eyes seemed to glow brighter. "You… Henry… You're the Creator…"

"What do you mean?" Henry asked in confusion. Emily didn't answer right away, instead launching herself at Henry and clinging onto his shirt.

"Henry!" The teens shouted in fear, Adrian, and Marinette beginning to run forward to help. Henry waved them off before they could get close as Emily wasn't hurting him.

"Save us, Creator!" Emily begged, practically sobbing in Henry's arms. Her voice also took on an echoing effect, as if several people were talking at once. "Please! Set us Free!"

"Emily please," Henry said, gently putting his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down. We'll find a way to help you and the others. Just what do you mean by calling me the creator? What going here?"

"Please save us…" Emily said as he body began to melt, much to the shock and horror of everyone. "Set us free… Creator…"

Emily's voice completely faded away as her form completely melted away, leaving nothing but a puddle. Henry just stared in shock before sinking to his knees in front of the puddle. After everything he had seen, all the hints and clues, the guesses at what truly happened, there was no way he could deny it now, not with the undeniable proof that had just occurred. Every ink creature, every searcher, every twisted toon, had once been a person. A person who had a future, only to have it ripped away from them. To be stuck in this nightmare all because of Joey Drew. Henry didn't even notice that he had started to cry until the tears had started to land on his hands. Henry hadn't even heard the others approach until they were all gathered around him.

"Uncle Henry…" Adrian said quietly, coming to kneel next to him. "Are you alright?"

"No," Henry replied, wiping the tears from his eyes. "How could Joey have done this? He's hurt so many people, what could he have possibly hoped to accomplish? Nothing could ever justify all this misery."

"We'll make it right somehow," Marinette assured, kneeling on Henry's other side. "We know that my magic does have an effect on these ink creatures. So there has to be a way for us to undo it."

"You just have to find the source of the twisted magic here," Tikki reminded, though she was more confident now after what happened. "Only then will the purification process have a lasting effect."

"But how can we fight these creatures now?" Henry replied, looking at the ink puddle again. "Now that we know for sure that these are people… I don't know if I can hurt them now…"

"Don't worry too much about it," Plagg replied dismissively, though Adrian can tell he was avoiding looking at him. "None of these ink creatures can actually die. Once this twisted magic has someone fully in its claws, it won't let anything go. So go ahead and defend yourself, the abominations will just pop up again somewhere else."

"Alright," Henry said, taking in a deep breath and getting back up. "We should probably get going."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23:**

"We've been in one place too long," Henry said firmly, readjusting his grip on the wrench. "We should get going. We need to find those gears for Alice so we can get out of here."

"Right," Marinette agreed, nodding her head and turning to Adrian. "I won't be able to transform for a while, so it's your turn Adrain."

"Okay," Adrain agreed, hiding his worry and giving Marinette the pipe he had been carrying. Taking a deep breath, Adrain steadied his nerves and held out his ring. "Plagg claws out!"

The transformation went by as usual, though Adrian could tell it was different. There was a different energy mixed in with the usual magic, something a bit more wild and unpredictable. When the transformation ended, Chat's suit looked darker and shiner, as if it was covered in a coat of ink. His ears were slightly more pointed and curved slightly inward. His claws slightly longer, and if he stayed in one place long enough he would leave footprints of ink. Luckily for Chat, or maybe unluckily, these changes were subtle enough that they couldn't be seen unless one was looking for them. And in the dim lighting and with the tense situation that was going on, no one was looking at him close enough to realize anything was wrong.

"Okay, we're ready to go," Marinette said in satisfaction and seeing Chat finished transformation, turning back to Henry.

"Good, but you two are staying here," Henry said seriously to Alya and Nino. "Stay in the elevator with Boris. You should be safe there until we finish getting what Alice needs."

"Come on, we can help," Alya immediately protested, putting her hands on her hips. "I have been left out and behind long enough. I don't run from danger. I run towards it and find a way to kick its butt."

"Alya, please don't argue," Henry said tiredly, getting Alya to calm down. "You saw what just happened. I can't risk any of you kids getting hurts. I can't risk the same thing that happened to everyone here happening to you. If I could convince them, I would have Adrian and Marinette stay back as well, but I know I can't. Please. Just stay where I know you'll be safe."

"Okay," Alya agreed softly, realizing how much this meant to Henry. "I'll stay with Boris."

"And don't worry," Nino assured, putting his arm around Alya. "I'll be here with you. And you're still the bravest girl I know."

"And sometimes the bravest thing you can do is know when you need to stand down," Marinette added, smiling at her friend."

"Alright you've convinced me," Alya replied with a smile of her own. "I'll stay back, so you just be sure to kick butt for me."

"I will," Marinette assured, hefting the pipe she had. Alya and Nino returned to the elevator to wait with Boris. Henry, Marinette, and Chat headed up the stairs to begin looking for the gears Alice wanted. They didn't get very far before a deformed toon, one that looked like Charley, came charging at them. It had a wrench in one hand and a gear stuck where the other hand would be. Chat pulled out his baton while the other two readied their makeshift weapons. Between the three of them, they were able to defeat the toon pretty easily.

"I'm guessing this is one of the gears Alice wants us to get," Henry said, picking up the gear that was left by the defeated toon. "So that's one down. Let's see if we can find more."

They walked farther down the hallway and found a box on the wall which Henry opened up. There was a clear spot where a gear was supposed to be, but it was empty.

"Nothing in here," Henry stated, leaving the box. "Let's find another box."

They walked farther into the hallway, taking out the occasional searchers. After searching for a few more boxes, they were finally able to find two more gears.

 _"Ah that should be plenty,"_ Alice said once they had picked up the last gear. _"Return them to me. And try not to_ _ **die on the way back.**_ _"_

"She is so encouraging isn't she," Marinette rolled her eyes. Adrian chuckled a little bit before wincing as his shoulder began to burn.

"Guys we need to head back," Chat said, readying his baton. "I think something is coming."

"What do you mean?" Marinette began but trailed off when she noticed inky shadows beginning to appear on the walls around them. The three began running back towards the elevator just as they heard a terrifying shriek behind them.

"Get ready to close the doors behind us!" Henry shouted as soon as they entered the elevator room. Alya and Nino didn't question it as they saw shadows crawling throughout the rooms. The three practically jumped down the stairs and into the elevator.

"Quick press the button!" Marinette commanded as soon as they were inside. Alya slammed the button and the doors began to close as they saw the monstrous form of the Ink Demon making its way after them. Thankfully the elevator doors finally clicked close and the elevator began to descend, taking them safely away. The group breathed a sigh of relief, only to have their moment ruined by Alice.

 _"Sammy said I had talent,"_ Alice said wistfully before turning bitter. _"_ _ **He was always a good liar.**_ _Still, he was once a very handsome man."_

"Susie… What happened to you?" Henry mumbled to himself, glancing up at the at the speaker. Now that he knew for sure that the ink creatures were once people, he had no problem hearing Susie's voice in Alice's twisted way of talking. He wondered again what happened that caused all this. Maybe Susie, or Alice, or whatever she was called, could give them some answers…


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24:**

The elevator came to a stop on level nine, letting Henry make his way back to Alice's door with Marrinette and Chat following behind.

 _"Just drop the gears along with the wrench in the chute next to the door,"_ Alice instructed.

"Susie… is that you? What happened to you?" Henry asked as he dropped the gears down the chute. "Happened here?"

 _"_ _ **The Liar happened!**_ _"_ Alice shouted in anger, surprising everyone with the venom in her voice. _"Coming with his_ _ **poisonous sweet words**_ _and nothing but_ _ **false promises.**_ _Well… I'll show him why he should_ _ **never lie to an angel!**_ _"_

"Susie… Please tell me what you mean," Henry pleaded, trying to make sense of what she was saying. "Is Joey the liar you're talking about? How did he do this to all of you?"

 _"I'm afraid Susie isn't here anymore…_ _ **I am Alice Angel**_ _,"_ Alice replied softly before focusing back on the task at hand. _"Have you seen them?_ _ **The swollen ones!**_ _They're just stuffed full of_ _ **extra thick. It makes me sick!**_ _And yet… it's the perfect thing for_ _ **keeping myself together**_ _. If you're going to catch them, you're going to have to learn to move quietly. You can find them on level Eleven. Come back to my door. I have_ _ **something that you'll need.**_ _"_

The panel flipped again, this time to reveal a syringe. Henry sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get anything more out of Susie right now, and picked up the syringe. The three headed back to the elevator and they went up to level Eleven. Henry was about to step out when he paused as a thought occurred to him.

"You were a worker here too weren't you," Henry said, looking back at the toon wolf. Boris looked a little startled at Henry's statement before hesitantly nodding.

"You're Wally," Henry realized, as all the pieces fell into place. All the little mannerisms that Henry had subconsciously regonized and responded to, even though Boris was never supposed to have them. "You're Wally Franks."

Boris looked away sadly, giving a shrug and making a kind of gesture with his hand.

"You were Wally, but you're not anymore," Henry interpreted, getting a nod in confirmation. "Would you prefer it if I still called you Boris?"

Boris gave another nod, unable to look Henry in the eye. Alya and Nino gathered around Boris, offering him silent comfort. Henry sighed and headed back out of the elevator. When he stepped out of the elevator, he spotted a large searcher by an old time clock.

"I think that's a swollen one like Alice was talking about," Henry whispered to Chat and Marinette, keeping an eye on it. "If it's anything like… like Jack… then we can't just charge it. We have to find a way to sneak up on it."

"Don't worry, I've got this," Chat said confidently, crouching down and taking the syringe from Henry. "Cats are notoriously good at sneaking at unsuspecting prey."

Chat stalked forward on all fours, easily blending into the shadows nearby. He managed to sneak around behind the swollen searcher. Chat lunged forward, jabbing the syringe into the back of searcher. But before he could pull the plunger, the swollen searcher let out a moan and fell apart.

"Did you get the ink?" Marrinette asked as she and Henry went up to Chat.

"I fell apart before I could," Chat replied in disappointment. "I didn't think it would fall apart so easily. I'll be careful next time."

"Maybe you don't have to," Henry replied, noticing a thick blob of ink where the searchers' remains had drained away. "This must be what we're after."

Henry took the syringe back and inserted it into the blob, sucking it in through the needle. Once he was done, he checked the container to see that it was about a third of the way full.

"We'll need to get at least two more blobs like that before we can take it back to Alice," Henry noted as he stood back up.

"How many tasks do you think she's going to make us do?" Marinette wondered out loud.

"Probably until she considers herself _purr_ fect," Chat joked, taking out his baton. "Let's get this over with."

They walked down the hallway but they didn't get very far before they were attacked by a twisted toon. This one had its head dangling from a fishing pole, Henry regonized it as a deformed version of Barley. It flailed it's body wildly, trying to hit them with its wildly swinging head. Chat extended his baton longer and used it to tangle the fishing wire and jerk the head out of the way. Taking advantage of the opening, Henry and Marrinette took advantage of the opening provided by Chat to rush in with their own weapons. After a few strikes, the twisted toon soon dissolved into a puddle, leaving behind another thick blob.

"Come on," Henry said once he had gathered the ink. "We need one more and then we'll be done."

The three of them kept going and, taking out searchers and wadding through a flooded hallway. Just as they reached the end, the noticed an ink monster lumbering past a large window. They froze in place, hoping it didn't notice them as it kept walking. They didn't get the most clear view of it, but it seemed like it was a humanoid creatures with a projector for its head.

"What was that?" Marinette said in shock once it was out of sight.

"I don't know," Henry replied, going up to the window and making sure it was gone. "It doesn't seem to like its coming back. With luck, we won't have to face it."

They returned to their task and managed to sneak up on the last swollen searcher.

 _"How sickening!_ _ **Makes my skin crawl!**_ _"_ Alice said once they had collected the ink. _"But the task is done. Bring me back my equipment, please."_

They didn't reply to Alice, but still made their way back towards the elevator. Once they stepped out of the flooded hallway, they noticed inky shadows had begun to spread across the wall and Chat's shoulder began to burn. Standing right there between them and the elevator stood the Ink Demon himself.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25:**

"Hide!" Henry ordered as the Ink Demon shrieked and began to charge at them. Marinette and Henry both dashed towards the Miracle Station nearby, but Chat didn't move. His shoulder was burning and he could feel it slowly spreading. The ink infused in his suit was reacting to the Ink Demon's presence, sending all sorts of confusing thoughts and feelings through Chat's mind. Feelings of hopelessness and desperation, but most overwhelmingly of all, Chat felt anger, anger at the one that had done to this and the need to get revenge. Chat let out a menacing growl of his own and charged at the Ink Demon.

"Chat no!" Marinette cried as she saw him lunge, but Chat didn't even seem to hear her. Chat dodged under Bendy's strike and lashed out with his baton, managing to hit Bendy in the chest. Even though it was a powerful blow, Bendy did little more than stumble back slightly. The Ink Demon let out an angry growl which Chat returned as they once again lunged at each other.

"What's Adrian thinking!?" Henry said in shock, watching the fight. "He's going to get himself killed at this rate!"

"I don't know!" Marinette replied fearfully, trying desperately to think of some way to fix this situation. "He's never acted like this before!"

"There's something wrong with his transformation…" Tikki informed, floating out of Marinette's purse to get a better look. " I didn't notice before because there's just so much corrupted magic around, but something is definitely wrong. It's almost like his transformation has been infected with the corrupted magic somehow."

"Is there any way to stop the infection?" Marinette asked, worried for her friend and partner.

"It's hard to tell…" Tikki replied sadly, looking at Marinette. "But from the way the magic is fluctuating wildly around him…. I don't think there's much we can do"

Marinette swallowed thickly and look back at the fight. Both Bendy and Chat were fighting furiously, but neither seemed able to get the upper hand. Finally, Chat snarled and held up his hand.

"Cataclysm!" Chat shouted. Dark energy and ink began to swirl around his hand. Once everything had gathered, Chat stuck, aiming for the Ink Demon's chest. Bendy was able to bring up his own hand in time to intercept the blow. The Ink Demon let out a deafening shriek of pain as his hand dissolved and the destruction slowly began to travel up his arm. Adrian shouted in pain at the same time and stumbled back, clutching his same hand that was disappearing on Bendy.

At this point, Chat's transformation came to an end. His suit melted away along with the strange anger he had been feeling, leaving Adrian confused and drained. Henry rushed forward at that time and grabbed Adrian, pulling him back from the Ink Demon. Henry grabbed Marinette and pulled both to the Miracle Station. Throwing the door open, Henry could instantly tell that the three of them wouldn't fit. So he shoved the two teenagers in and shut the door, cutting of Marinette's protest.

Satisfied that they were safe, Henry turned back to the Ink Demon, ready to either run or fight if he had to. The Ink Demon was clutching it's injured arm, though it had stopped dissolving a little past the elbow. Even as Henry watched, he could see the arm start to grow back. Bendy looked over at Henry as if sensing his gaze, and gave him an angry snarl. Henry clenched the syringe, though he knew it'd be useless against the Ink Demon, and prepared for Bendy's lunge. But instead of attacking, Bendy just let out a growl at Henry before he turned away and disappeared through an ink portal that appeared on the wall behind him. Henry breathed a sigh of relief at the Ink Demon's departure and turned to face Marinette and Adrian as they came out of the Miracle Station.

"He's gone for now," Henry informed, nodding to the wall where the Ink Demon had disappeared. "Adrian, what were you thinking attacking him!?"

"I don't know…" Adrian murmured rubbing his head as his thoughts finished clearing. "I just felt really angry and I couldn't think straight so I just attacked what was in front of me…"

"I told you that stupid infection would probably mess with the transformation!" Plagg shouted in anger and worry, floating around Adrian in worry. "And now it's spread even farther!"

Adrian's eyes widened in alarm and he immediately looked at his shoulder. Henry and Marinette followed his gaze only to gasp in fear and worry. Black veins were visible coming out from coming out from under his shirt, almost reaching his elbow. And when Adrian looked back up at them, Henry and Marinette could see more black veins on his neck.

"Adrian!" Marinette said in worry, coming over to look him over. "When did this happen?"

"Um, it's from the scratch Bendy gave me," Adrian reluctantly admitted. "But it wasn't this bad this morning."

"You were infected when you rescued me," Marinette realized sadly. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"We had more things to worry about than my injury," Adrian reasoned, pulling back from Marinette. "And besides, there's nothing we can do to stop it so it didn't matter if you knew or not."

"Adrian, we care about you," Henry said, pulling Adrian into a hug much to Adrian's surprise. "I don't know where you got the idea that you aren't important, but you are important to all of us. If you're in trouble, we want to know so we can help in any way we can. We'll find some way to fix this. I promise."

"Thanks, Uncle Henry," Adrian replied softly, finally relaxing and taking comfort from his uncle's hug.

"Always Adrian," Henry smiled as he finally pulled back. "Is there at least a way we can keep your condition from getting worse."

"Don't let him transform again," Plagg said immediately, before dropping sadly. "It causes the infection to spread faster. But other than that… I don't think there's much we can do."

"Then I'll be the only one transforming from now on," Marinette concluded firmly. "You need to take care of yourself, Adrian. You trust me to help keep everyone safe right?"

"Of course my lady," Adrian replied, smiling briefly before becoming serious. "But since you are the only one, you should probably not transform until we need you to."

"Agreed," Marinette nodded. "Let's get back to the others."


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Sorry _Timm Hill_ I already had that chapter planned out. But when I saw your comment, I knew you would enjoy it. Keep up suggestions and comments though, I do think them over to see if they'll fit into the plot I have planned.**

 **Chapter 26:**

"Are you guys alright?" Alya asked as the Henry, Marinette, and Adrian approached the elevator. "We saw Bend walk past us and it sounded like there was some fighting."

"Dude, what happened to you?" Nino asked once Adrian was close enough that they could see the inky veins.

"It's a bit of a long story," Marinette said tiredly before the three began to explain everything that happened.

"Adrian, you should have told us what was happening," Nino said in comfort and slight disappointment. "We're your friends, we want to know what's troubling you."

"Yeah, I know," Adrian replied, giving a small smile. "I promise I'll be better about telling you guys whenever I have a problem."

"Glad that's all resolved," Alya beamed, pulling everyone in for a quick hug. "Now let's get this nasty ink to that creepy Angel. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

The group agreed and they began descending in the elevator. They had barely started moving when Alice's voice once more echoed through the speakers.

 _"Once upon a time, there was an angel."_ Alice reminisced. _"And she was beautiful. And loved by all._ _ **She was perfect. No matter what Joey says!**_ _"_

Alice went quiet as the elevator arrived on her floor. Henry, Marinette, and Adrian made their way to her door to drop her equipment down the chute.

"Susie, please," Henry begged. "I want to fix this, but I need to know what Joey did."

 _"_ _ **I'll make this simple.**_ _Look for the valve panels on Level P."_ Alice instructed, ignoring Henry's plea. _"Turn the little wheels._ _ **Then bring me their power cores.**_ _Please don't make me regret sparing you._ _ **I can always change my mind**_ **.** "

The panel flipped around once more, displaying a plunger for Henry to use.

"Really?" Henry questioned in disbelief as he took it. There was no way it was going to be an effective weapon.

"You can have the pipe back," Marinette offered, holding it out to Henry. "I need to be ready to transform anyway."

"I'd rather one of you kids have it," Henry replied, refusing to take back the pipe. "Remember, you're saving your transformation until we absolutely need it. I'll make do with the plunger."

Marinette nodded, though she did give the pipe to Adrian. She didn't want him to get hurt any more than he had been and she had been telling Henry the truth. She wanted to be ready to transform at any moment. They went back to the elevator and went up to Level P. They barely stepped out of the elevator when another twisted toon, this one resembling Edger, rushed forward to attack them. They barely dodged the first strike, but they were able to return blows of their own. Working together, Henry and Adrian were able to defeat the twisted toon. When it dissolved, the power core it was holding was left behind. They collected it before heading farther into the floor.

They didn't have to go far before they found the first valve panel. They all winced as Henry turned the first wheel, the loud squeak echoing through the whole floor. They looked around to see if it had attracted the Ink Demon, but there were no shadows. Henry went back to turning the wheels as quickly possible while Adrain and Marinette, Henry having given her the plunger so he could hold the power cores, keeping an eye for the Ink Demons. While they did run into a couple of searchers as they collected the power cores, there was no sign of the Ink Demon or his shadows. Henry theorized that the Ink Demon was still recovering from the injure Adrian had given it. Whatever the reason, they were happy to collect the cores with relative ease.

 _"You're quite the efficient little errand boy,_ _ **aren't you?**_ _"_ Alice complimented as they headed back to the elevator. As soon as they started heading down, Alice began rambling again. _"There was a time_ _ **people knew my name**_ _. "It's Alice Angel!" they'd say. Feels like so long ago._ _ **But those days can come back.**_ _Dreams come true, Susie. Dreams come true."_

Henry looked up hopefully as Alice said that, wondering if Susie was remembering who she used to be. But as soon as they dropped off the power cores, Alice was back to her old demanding self.

 _"You see those_ _ **grinning demons?**_ _"_ Alice said with a hint of malicious glee. _"_ _ **Let's remove them, shall we?**_ _I've got just the tool to_ _ **make this even more enjoyable**_ _. There's plenty on Level K to take out."_

The panel flipped to reveal an axe, which Henry took gladly.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Marinette questioned as they headed back to the elevator. "I don't see how this could possibly help her in whatever her plans are. If anything, it seems like it's just going to make Bendy mad."

"I agree, but we don't have much of a choice," Henry sighed, pressing the button for Level K. "As long as Alice controls the elevator, we have to do with she says. With luck, though, we'll be able to get through this task before the Ink Demon finishes recovering."

"Well we do have the best lucky charm of all," Adrian joked, nudging Marinette.

"I hope you didn't just jinx us you black cat," Marinette attempted to joke back, though it was obvious she was still worried.

They soon came to Level K and Henry lead the way through the floor. With his ax and having Marinette and Adrian as back up, Henry was able to chop through the cutouts pretty quickly and easily take care of any ink creatures that popped up. They were soon back into the Heavenly Toys room with all the cutouts strewn about. Henry made swift work of them, leaving their pieces scattered all over the floor.

 _"_ _ **Ah, now that was fun!**_ _"_ Alice said with satisfaction. _"Oh! But I forgot to mention…_ _ **he hates it when I do that.**_ _I would hide if I were you."_

The three of them looked at each other with fear and worry, before looking around. For a few moments, nothing happened but before they could even think to relax, Adrian's shoulder began to burn. Inky shadows soon filled the room and they knew Ink Demon would soon be upon them.

"Quick in there!" Henry ordered, pointing towards the nearby Miracle Station. "We have to hide!"

Marinette immediately grabbed Adrian and the three of them hurried to the Miracle Station.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27:**

Henry threw open the door of the Miracle Station as soon as he was close and shoved Marinette and Adrian inside. Knowing he couldn't fit inside the small box as well, slammed the door closed and turned away, ignoring Marinette's muffled protest. The Ink Demon soon walked into the room and it was obvious he was furious. He let out an angry shriek as he spotted Henry surrounded by all the destroyed cutouts. The Ink Demon began charging down one set of stairs at Henry while Henry ran towards the other set of stairs. Henry risked one glance at the Ink Demon, just to make sure that the Ink Demon was focused only on Henry and not the hidden teens. Fortunately, the Ink Demon completely ignored the Miracle Station and just chased after the old animator.

Satisfied that the teens were safe for now, Henry focused on escaping the ink Demon. He twisted through the hallways and toy shelves, trying to outmaneuver Bendy who was slowly closing the distance between them. Bendy let out another shriek as he lunged at Henry, who barely managed to get out of the way in time, Bendy's claws tearing a rip in his shirt. While the Ink Demon was regaining his footing, Henry took the opportunity to run down another hallway.

He wasn't paying too much to what where he was going, more focused on just getting away and ended up going down the wrong way. He could see what looked like a Miracle Station up ahead, but as he got closer, he saw in fear that it appeared to be destroyed. The door was ripped and ink covered the inside. He looked around for anywhere else to go, but it was the hallway was a dead end. Henry didn't even have time to really feel fear before he felt large clawed hands grab onto him.

In an instant, Henry found his back being slammed into the wall while the Ink Demon held him in the air by his throat. Henry's hands instinctively went to the hand around his throat, trying desperately to pry open the iron grip. His efforts were useless though and the Ink Demon's grin seemed to widen in malicious glee. The Ink Demon tightened his grip, causing Henry to gasp as his oxygen supply was cut off.

"I… I don't know what you've been through," Henry chocked out, using the last of his oxygen to speak. "I don't know what Joey did, but I promise… I'll find some way to fix this. I'll find some way to save you all… I promise…"

As Henry's vision darkened, he could almost swear he saw the Ink Demon hesitate and felt his grip lessen. But before he could be sure, his vision went black and he was swallowed up by the ink. For a moment, Henry felt nothing as he floated in a black void. Then what seemed like hundreds of voices began echoing and screaming all around him. They were constantly talking over each other, making it impossible for Henry to pick out any specific words. All he knew was that they were in pain and that they were angry. It was overwhelming and Henry was worried that he would be consumed by the mass. But he couldn't let that happen. He had the kids to protect! He had to get back! He had to… had to… what did he have to do again? It was hard to remember. Even as Henry tried to hold on, he could feel himself starting to slip away. Why did he have to get out? Was his name even Henry?

… _ **Creator…**_

What was that? Did someone call out to him? Why did that name sound familiar and yet not?

 _ **Creator!**_

The voice seemed to cut through all the noise and push it back, allowing Henry to pull his conscious back together.

 _ **Creator! You must resist!**_

 _Who are you?_ Henry wondered as he heard the voice all around him, protecting him from the others.

 _ **We are yours and you are our Creator.**_ The voice replied to Henry's thought. Henry couldn't tell if the voice was supposed to be male or female, but it seemed familiar somehow.

 _What do you mean? Why do you keep calling me Creator?_

 _ **There's no time to explain. You are the Creator and we know you will keep your promise. But you must return now. We have waited so long for you to come, we can wait a little longer. Go… open your eyes. We will show you the way…**_

 _Please tell me what's going on!_

 _ **Open your eyes…**_

The voice didn't say anything more so Henry was left with no choice but to obey. He opened his eyes to see a light ahead of him in a swirling tunnel of ink. Henry was stunned at the realization of where he was. The Ink Demon had killed him and he was in the ink, just as Alice had described. A small shove on his back snapped Henry out of his thoughts and propelled him forward slightly. Henry looked behind him, but he couldn't see anything.

 _ **Go, Creator… We can't keep this up forever… Go to those that are waiting for you…**_

 _Thank you… I'll find some way to repay you back for this…_

 _ **We know Creator… Remember… You are the true Creator…. All you do is have to reach out and believe…**_

Henry wanted to question the voice some more, to finally get some straight answers, but he could see the tunnel slowly start to collapse. Henry lunged forward, forcing himself to get to the light floating in front of him. He could sense the voices around him reaching out to try and hold him back, to keep him trapped with them, but he was still protected. He finally reached the light and pushed forward, feeling like he was bursting through to open air. He gasped as his head broke the surface, coughing as he pulled himself out of the puddle he had just been in.

When he had finally calmed down enough, Henry realized he wasn't in the same hallway the Ink Demon had killed him. Instead, he was at a foot of Bendy statue hear the area where he had first run into a member of the Butcher Gang. Henry wanted nothing more than to just sit back and think about everything he had just gone through, but he couldn't afford that right now. He had to make sure the kids were alright.

With renewed determination, Henry picked himself up and began heading back to the Heavenly Toys area.

 **AN: So I killed Henry, but he came back so he's fine... probably...**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28:**

Normally, two teens being shoved into a small space with their crush was never an easy thing for either individual. It's awkward at best and downright embarrassing at worst. But these weren't normal circumstances nor were these normal teens. While Marinette would normally be stuttering and blushing at even the thought of being so close with Adrian that they were partially pressed together, she had far more than her feelings to worry about. Adrian wasn't just her crush, he was her friend and her partner. And right now Marinette could see that her partner was in pain. Adrian was curled against his side of the station, gripping his shoulder tightly. Marinette could see the Ink vines moving and spreading, reaching down past his elbow and going up to his neck and onto the side of his face.

"Adrian?" Marinette said slowly, reaching towards him as if she wanted to comfort him somehow. She paused when he let out an inhuman growl, an instinctive jolt of fear rushing through her at the sound. She forcefully pushed those feelings aside. This was Adrian, the sweetest and gentlest boy she knew he was her partner, the one that was constantly sacrificing himself for her. He would never hurt her of his own free will. "Adrian, it's me. I'm here for you."

"Sorry my lady," Adrian replied, looking up when he realized what he had just done. The inky veins had reached his eye and was slowly turning it black and turning the iris yellow. "I just feel so angry all of the sudden… I… I think I'm feeling what Bendy is feeling."

"That monster is the one that infected you," Plagg grumbled as he hovered near Adrian. Tikki floated by him, offering silent comfort with her presence. "And all the different magic fighting for effect, having a connection with that creature is probably not that unexpected."

"Maybe we could use this to our advantage," Marinette said, trying to find the best into this situation. "Can you tell anything else from your connection? Anything that can be useful?"

"Mostly just his emotions right now," Adrian murmured as he tried to focus on the connection. "I know he's feeling several things right now, but it's hard to discern through the tidal wave of anger. I can sort of feel the general direction of where he is, but nothing too precise-"

Adrian cut off when he suddenly burst into laughter, starling Marinette and the two kwamis. Adrian got his laughter under control pretty quickly though he still had a big grin on his face.

"Sorry, he just felt super happy all of the sudden, though not a good kind of happiness, and…" Adrian's grin faltered as his now yellow and black eye began to glow. "Uncle Henry? What?"

"Adrian?" Marinette asked as he trailed off and his eye stopped glowing. "What happened just now?"

"It was really weird," Adrian replied as he focused back on what was in front of him. "After I felt Bendy's happiness, I swear I saw Uncle Henry for a moment, but then I just saw nothing by ink followed by Bendy's confusion. I'm not sure what it was about, but I'm pretty positive that Bendy's left this floor. I can't sense him anymore."

"Your eye did glow just now," Marinette informed thoughtfully. "Maybe for that moment, you could see what the Ink Demon could see. That could be useful, can you try to do that again?"

Adrian nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. After a few moments of nothing happening, Adrain sighed and shook his head.

"It's no use," Adrain said, opening his eyes again. "I'm not getting anything. Let's get going. I'm really worried about Uncle Henry."

"Alright, but I'm sure he's fine," Marinette said as she opened the door to the Miracle Station. "You said you felt confusion right? Henry must have been able to find someplace to hide so the Ink Demon couldn't find him."

"I hope so," Adrian said softly, unable to convince himself that was the truth as they walked. He couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened to Henry. Luckily, it seemed like his fears were for nothing for they came across Henry looking for them. Henry smiled when they saw them and pulled them into a hug.

"I'm glad you kids are safe," Henry said as he released them.

"We're the ones who should have been worried," Marinette replied with a teasing scold. "You're the one that was being chased by Bendy after all. Why do you insist you're the one that needs to be in danger all the time? We can take care of ourselves. We're superheroes. You should have let me transform and help you out."

"It's my fault you're in this mess so it's my responsibility to keep you safe," Henry replied seriously. "I'm fine and the Ink Demon didn't go after you, so it all worked out. Besides, as the adult, I'm supposed to protect kids when I can, even superpowered ones. Anyway, let's get back to the others and see if there's anything else Alice wants us to do."

Marinette and Adrian agreed and headed back to the elevator with Henry.

"Are you guys alright," Alya asked as they got close. "You guys were gone for longer than we were expecting."

"You don't look too good Adrian," Nino commented, looking at how far the ink veins had spread. Adrian's entire arm was covered as well as the side of his face.

"Yeah," Adrian agreed, lightly touching under his changed eye. "Apparently just being around the Ink Demon causes it to spread now. But I'm fine now."

"Luckily none of us were hurt when the Ink Demon came," Henry replied, avoiding going into details. "So let's get back to Alice. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that she still has a few more tasks for us."

"No kidding," Alya scoffed, rolling her eyes. "She's just as bad as Chloe with all the stupid demands she makes."

That comment managed to get a few chuckles from the other teens as the elevator began to descend.

 **AN: So I may have been influenced by the fanfiction Ink Spots. It's a great story, but this is pretty much where the similarities end.**


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: Well _HeliX Sol_ This takes place before Nino becomes Carapaces but after Alya becomes Rena Rouge. But since Alya has to return the Miraculous each time the mission is completed, she can't transform here. Wich just ads to her frustration**

 **Oh and _SLugTurtle_ where ever did you get the idea that the ink was done messing with Adrien and his powers?**

 **Chapter 29:**

Alice was unusually quiet as they arrived at her floor. Henry glanced up at the speakers briefly as he, Marinette and Adrain once more made their way to Alice's door. Henry was about to drop off the ax when a loud banging could be heard nearby. The three quickly turned to the source to see several of the Butcher Gang charging in.

 _ **"The disgusting wretches have wandered my halls, have gone unchecked!"**_ Alice shouted over the speakers, her voice filled with pure hatred. _**"They're trying to drag me back to the darkness! Don't let them take your angel! Purge them one by one! Smash them into puddles! Kill them!"**_

They barely paid attention to the end of Alice's speech as several searchers also spawned and began crawling toward them with loud groans. The Butcher Gang toons were also closing in, having ignored those hiding in the elevator.

"Tikki! Spots on!" Marinette shouted, triggering her transformation. As soon as she finished transforming, Ladybug flung her yo-yo at the nearest Butcher Gang clone, causing him to stumble back into the others, while Adrian and Henry focused on the searchers trying to get them. There were a lot of enemies swarming them all at once, but the three of them were able to hold their own. Ladybug was able to keep the Butcher gang back with her yo-yo, giving Adrian and Henry the time they needed to finish of the searchers before helping her. By the time the last enemy melted into a puddle, all three of them were breathing heavy and covered in ink splatters.

 _"So quiet,"_ Alice commented as the three recovered from the encounter. _"Like a welcoming grave. I like the silence, don't you?"_

The three of them glared up at the speaker before Henry sighed and dropped off the ax.

 _"_ _ **I hate leaving work unfinished!**_ _"_ Alice said, sounding frustrated. _"Fortunately, I have_ _ **you to pick up the pieces.**_ _But you'll have to go even deeper. Down, down, down i_ _ **nto the abyss.**_ _Take the lift down. Say hello to an old friend. You'll recognize_ _ **what I need**_ _when you see it. Sending you a little present. A little firepower. Take good care of it. It belonged to_ _ **someone very special.**_ _"_

The panel flipped around to show a tommy gun of all things. The three stared at it in shock before Henry reached out to grab it. No sooner did he have it in his hands then it turned into ink and melted right through his fingers.

"Oops. I forgot," Alice laughed through the speakers. "It's a little hard to get a hold of. Oh well. Better luck next time."

Henry ignored her as he and the others made their way back to the elevator.

"Man, that angel is a real jerk," Alya commented as they piled in. The three couldn't help but nod tiredly. Henry pressed the button for level 14 and the elevator began it's decent. They came to a vast room, larger than the Heavenly Toys room, but it was also very dark. Boris seemed to be scared of this floor and was curled against the back of the elevator. Alya and Nino tried to provide him some comfort, but they were nervous by his reaction. Cautiously, Adrian Ladybug and Henry left the elevator and towards the staircase. They went down a few steps onto a platform and lying in front of them was the corpse of a Butcher Gang toon, one that looked like Edger.

"Is that… is that a heart in his hand?" Ladybug said in shock once she had spotted the mentioned object.

"I… I think so…" Adrain agreed, feeling slightly nauseous.

"Is that what we're supposed to collect," Henry said in disgust. "Alice did say we would know when we saw it… but I would never imagine she would want something so horrifying. Why does she even… Never mind. I don't want to know."

Pushing past his own disgust and nauseous, Henry picked up the heart. Henry briefly wondered what do with it before reluctantly slipping it into his pocket. Whipping his hand on his pants, Henry stood back up and the three of them went along the balcony. A piercing screech sounded through the room. The three of them leaned on the railing, looking out over the inky abyss. After a moment, they could see a moving light coming closer from one of the doorways.

 _"Shhh… there he is,"_ Alice spoke up as the monster came into view. It was the same one they had spotted before while collecting ink. _"_ _ **The Projectionist. Sulking in the darkness.**_ _You be sure to stay out of his light if you don't want trouble. Just bring me back_ _ **the pieces I need.**_ _"_

They watched as the Projectionist wandered through the ink and into the next doorway. Even though they had only seen him at a distance, they could already tell he was a powerful monster.

"For once, I think Alice is actually giving us good advice," Henry said, staring at where the Projectionist had gone. "That is defiantly a monster we should try and avoid."

Adrain and Ladybug nodded in agreement as they headed down the next flight of stairs. Adrain paused right before the entering the lake of ink while the other two just walked in.

"Adrian, what's wrong?" Henry asked, noticing Adrian's hesitation.

"The ink veins react when I'm in a lot of ink," Adrian replied, keeping to his promise of telling the others what was happening to him. "It didn't do much last time, but it could be different now it's spread so much."

"Then you should stay back with the others," Ladybug decided immediately. "I'm already transformed, so we should be fine. Just take of yourself for once alright."

"Okay," Adrian sighed, handing Henry the pipe. "Just be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll look out for her," Henry promised, getting an eye roll form Ladybug. Adrian gave a small smile before heading back up the stairs. Henry and Ladybug watched him for a moment before resuming wading through the ink.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30:**

Henry and Ladybug made their way through the pool of ink, wincing at the loud sounds they were making despite their best efforts to be quiet. Luckily, it seemed like the Projectionist wasn't triggered by sounds, as it hadn't reacted at all while Alice had been talking. They soon came across a tape recorder on a floating crate.

 _"Now I'm nor lookin' for trouble,"_ Norman's voice said once Henry pressed play. _"It's just the nature of us projectionists to seek out the dark places. You see, I've learned the ins and outs of this here studio. I know how to avoid being bothered by the likes of this… company. That projectionist, they always say, creeping around, he's just lookin' for trouble. Well, trouble or not, I sees everything. They don't even know when I'm watchin'. Even when I'm right behind 'em."_

"No… not Norman too." Henry mourned sadly. Ladybug came and gently patted his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Henry gave her a small smile as he squared his shoulders. He didn't have time to morn more of his fallen friends and coworkers when he had the kids to protect. Besides, he had already promised he was going to find a way to save everyone. He had to believe he could and focus on reaching that goal. Giving Ladybug a nod, the two of them continued their way through the ink.

They went through the opposite doorway that they had seen the Projectionist had gone through. They entered what seemed to be a maze of hallways with clips from old Bendy Cartoons being shown on the walls. Henry recognized them as the ones made after he left and he couldn't help but be angry. Joey had taken the character he loved and put him through all sorts of hardships just to get back at Henry for leaving. Henry couldn't stand seeing Bendy being the made the butt of the jokes over and over again which is why he had stopped watch the new cartoons rather quickly. Turning away from the projection, Henry spotted another heart floating in the ink.

"Found another one," Henry said, picking up the heart. "Let's see keep going."

Ladybug and Henry kept making their way through the inky maze. They had to hide a few times when they saw the Projectionist wandering through the halls. But soon enough, they soon found all the hearts they needed of Alice.

 _"Tell me. Were they still_ _ **writhing in your hands**_ _?"_ Alice asked gleefully once they got the last heart. _"_ _ **Bring them to me. Now!**_ _I don't like to wait."_

Henry and Ladybug both shuddered in disgust but began to make their way back to the elevator as instructed. They were on their way to the exit when they heard a piercing screech. They whipped around to see that the Projectionist had spotted them and was now charging after them. There was no place to hide, their only chance was to outrun him and try and get to the elevator. They both turned back around and bolted towards the exit with the Projectionist following close behind.

* * *

Adrien was pacing in the area in front of the elevator. Alya and Nino had been very understanding when he had joined them in waiting by the elevator. They had tried to pass the time with meaningless chatter, but it didn't help much, especially with Boris still cowering in the corner. Adrien just felt so restless. He should be out there helping his Uncle and protecting his Lady. Yet here he was, stuck waiting just because they weren't sure what the Ink slowly spreading through his body would do. It frustrated him, but there was little more he could do than pace and wait for the others to return.

"You know you're going to end up wearing a hole in the floor at this rate," Alya quipped after watching him for several minutes.

"Yeah, relax dude," Nino added. "Marinette and Henry can handle themselves and they'll be back before you know it. So there's no need to be worried like this. You trust them to take care of themselves don't you?"

"Of course I do," Adrien replied immediately, glancing over at them as he continued to pace. "But I always feel better when I'm there to protect my Lady if she needs it. I just feel so useless stuck up here."

"Well, now you know how we feel," Alya reasoned. "I'm used to chasing after monsters and fights in order to get footage for my ladyblog, but I know in these circumstances that it's better for us to just stay out of the way. So if I can suck it up and wait on the sidelines than so can you."

"I know," Adrien sighed, finally coming to a stop. "I just can't shake the feeling something bad is about to-"

Adrien was cut off as a piercing screech filled the air. The three teens immediately whipped around to face the source, leaning over the balcony to get a better view of what was happening. They watched as Henry and Ladybug came running out of one of the entrances, the ink splashing loudly as they moved and slowed them down. The Projectionist soon came out behind them, moving through the ink with more ease than the two humans.

Suddenly, Henry stumbled on something hidden beneath the ink. He didn't fall and managed to recover pretty quickly, but it had slowed him down enough for the Projectionist to catch up. As the Projectionist lashed out at Henry, Ladybug launched her yo-yo at the monster, causing the Projectionist to narrowly miss Henry. While the yo-yo strike didn't seem to do much damage, it did change the Projectionist focus from Henry onto Ladybug. The Projectionist screeched again and lunged at Ladybug, a lot faster than she was expecting. The Projectionist struck her with surprising force, sending her flying through the air.

Her transformation came to an end, leaving Marinette with no magical protection as she slammed into the large Bendy statue. Adrian swears he could hear her skull crack against the stone before she slumped lifelessly into the ink below. Something inside Adrian snapped.

"MARINETTE!" Everyone shouted in fear and worry. Henry was immediately running her direction, but so was the Projectionist. Adrien was gripping the railing in anger, the inky veins reacting and spreading in response to his emotions and his eyes began to glow yellow. Without realizing what he was doing, Adrian climbed up onto the railing.

"Adrien! DON'T!" Plagg shouted, but Adrien was beyond reasoning. With an inhuman growl, Adrien leaped off the balcony toward the Projectionist. The ink boiled and surged up to meet him, wrapping around his limbs and he fell through the air. He could feel himself transforming, though it wasn't normal and he could tell he wasn't quite the same, but he didn't care. Flexing his new long claws, Adrien snarled, his mouth opening wider than humanly possible to show razor-sharp teeth. He was going to make the Projectionist _pay for hurting his Lady. He was going to_ _ **tear him APART!**_


	31. Chapter 31

**An: To answer you question _QuickestSecret_ I usually post new chapters on Friday morning MST.**

 **Chapter 31:**

 _Air!_ Marinette desperately thought as suddenly finding herself submerged in ink jolted her to consciousness. She clawed her way to the surface, coughing and sputtering ink from her lungs. Someone was soon by her side, rubbing her back as she continued to clear her lungs of ink and murmuring words of comfort. Her entire body felt sore and her head throbbed, though she couldn't quite remember why. Once she got her breathing under control, she tentatively reached up and touched her head, wincing at how tender it was. Her hand was met with wetness, but she could only see ink when she examined it and couldn't tell if she was bleeding.

"Careful Marinette," Henry advise, Marinette finally realizing he was the one helping her. "You got hurt pretty bad when the Projectionist hit you."

"The Projectionist!" Marinette said in fear, the events of the fight rushing back. The Projectionist must still be here and she had to stop him. Marinette tried to get up, but Henry held her down.

"Slow down there, Adrien's taking care of the monster," Henry tried to reassure, but it was obvious he was worried. "But Adrien had to transform and I think something is seriously wrong."

"What do you..?" Marinette began but trailed off as she took in the fight for herself. Chat was fighting more furiously and wildly. His baton was nowhere in sight, using his bare hands instead to attack the Projectionist. And, while it was hard to tell with how much they were moving around, but Chat didn't look right like, like his proportions were off.

Chat leaped onto the Projectionists back and, to the shock of everyone, bite the film reel embedded in the Projectionists shoulder and ripped it out. The Projectionist shrieked in rage and pain, trying to shake Chat off. Chat dug in with his claws to hold, but the Projectionist somehow managed to reach around himself and grab Chat. The Projectionist threw Chat off him, slamming Chat into a wall. The Projectionist shrieked at Chat's direction before heading back toward the maze to recover from the fight. Chat got back up from where he had landed and took off after the Projectionist on all fours.

"Chat! Wait!" Marinette called, causing Chat to stop. He turned and growled at her, causing her to gasp as she finally got a good look at him. His limbs were longer and thinner than normal with each of his extremities having claws. His mouth was open wider than humanly possible, full of sharp teeth and his eyes a glowing yellow. His suit seemed to be made entirely of ink, his tail no longer a belt but now a part of him and with a pointed tip. What used to be his cat ears, was larger and looked more like horns. His entire form seemed unstable and ink was constantly bubbling off him and evaporating as misty shadows.

"Oh no Adrien," Henry said as he took in Chat's form as well. "Is this because he transformed again?"

"He's not transformed," Tikki informed sadly, looking at Chat. "At least, not in the normal sense."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked, glancing at the Kwamii.

"Plagg's still out," Tikki replied. The two humans looked closer and they could see the little cat Kwamii flying around Adrian, desperately trying talk Chat out of his rage. Chat ignored the Kwamii and growled at the humans again and began leaping toward them.

"Adrien stop!" Henry pleaded, placing himself in front of Marinette.

"It's me Marinette!" Marinette added, trying to get through to Chat. Chat's eyes seemed to clear briefly as he skidded to a stop in front of them, splashing them with ink. Chat began backing off, shaking his head in confusion. He looked at the humans once more, this time with clear horror and fear on his face, before he turned and ran off into the maze, Plagg following close behind.

"Adrien! No! Come back!" Marinette shouted as she tried to follow after them, but Henry held her back.

"Let me go!" Marinette shouted as she struggled to get free. "I have to go after Adrien! He's in trouble! I have to do something! He needs me!"

"Marinette! Stop struggling! You have to let him go!" Henry said sternly, eventually getting Marinette to stop struggling and listen. "There's nothing you can do for him right now. I hate it too, but we have to go on without him. Once we get Alya and Nino to safety, we can come back. We'll save Adrien and everyone else trapped here by Joey's madness. Please Marinette, let him go so that we'll have the chance to save everyone."

Marinette slumped in defeat and gave a weak nod. Satisfied that she wouldn't run away, Henry let her go.

"We will save everyone Marinette," Henry assured with confidence. "We have a better idea of what we're up against so we can be prepared when we come back. I know we can find a way to fix this. Besides, you're a superhero, right? I'm sure you've faced tough situations like this before and overcame them. You can handle this."

"You're right Henry," Marinette agreed, some of her usual confidence returning. "This isn't the first time I've had to save Adrien from the clutches of a villain after all. I'll save him just as I have before."

"That's the spirit," Henry smiled, getting a small smile in return. The two headed up the stairs and met up with those at the elevator.

"We saw the ink mix with Adrien's transformation," Alya said worriedly once the other had got there. "Did the infection finally get to him? Is that why he ran off?"

"I bet that's why he looked so awesome," Nino added, trying to lighten the mood. "Especially those shadows seem to rise off him. It made him look so intimidating."

"His form is unstable, which is why there are those shadows as you call them," Tikki explained, rather than Marinette. "The magic that his body has absorbed from being Chat Noir is fighting against the mess of magic that is in the ink. Both are trying to overpower the other, leaving Adrien caught in the middle and making him confused and disoriented. Right now, he's mostly just following his emotions, such as his protective streak over Marinette and anger at the monster that hurt her. All that combined with the connection he has with the Ink Demon, it'll be a while before he can become stable and even semi-coherent... if he does at all. Like we've said before, the strange mix of magic makes it hard to predict what will happen when combined with ours."

"Man, poor Adrain," Nino murmmered in sympathy.

"We'll save him," Marinette said with conviction, repeating what Henry had told her. "We'll find some way to fix this and save everyone."

"That's the Marinette I know," Alya smiled, happy that her friend was still going strong despite what just happen.

"But first let's get back to Alice and get you two out of here," Henry concluded. "Then we can figure out how to save everyone."

The teens nodded and they all piled in the elevator, heading back up to level 9.

 **AN: If you want to see a picture of what looks like. You can use the link below.**

 **soniccrazygal/art/Demon-Noir-766954326**


	32. Chapter 32

**AN: Here's that link again for how Adrien's new look if you missed it.**

soniccrazygal/art/Demon-Noir-766954326

 **If it still doesn't work. You can just google SonicCrazyGal and my DeviantArt page is one of the first results.**

 **Chapter 32:**

The mood was solemn as the elevator ascended, the group keenly feeling Adrien's absence. Marinette had managed to wipe off most of the ink from her body, though it did little to lighten her mood. Her head was still really tender and she was able to find blood under all the ink. She didn't tell the others about her injure, deciding to worry about it later. They had just been through a lot and had bigger things to worry about.

Soon the elevator arrived at level 9, letting Marinette and Henry to once again approach Alice's door. Henry was relieved to finally get rid of the hearts, though he was burdened by the price getting the hearts had cost them. He hoped desperately that this was the last thing that Alice would ask of them. He wasn't sure if they could handle any more tasks now.

 _"It seems we've reached the_ _ **end of my to-do list,**_ _my little errand boy,"_ Alice said, much to the relief of the group. _"I hope you and those little tag-alongs enjoyed our time together. I'll always treasure it._ _ **Return to the lift.**_ _It's time to go home."_

Marinette and Henry returned tiredly to the elevator, Alice closing the doors automatically behind them. The group smiled at each other as the elevator began to rise. Finally, they would be out of the studio and once they've recovered, they'd figure out a plan to save everyone. And they would find a way to save everyone, they would never leave a friend behind for long.

 _"Have you ever wondered what Heaven is like?"_ Alice spoke up, making the others look at each other in confusion and slight fear. _"I like to dream that it's quite beautiful. A soft valley of green grass, blanketed by a warm sun._ _ **I don't think I'll ever get to see it**_ _. Are you ready to ascend, my little errand boy? The heavens are waiting."_

The elevator continued to rise like normal as Alice pitter off. The way she had been talking had them worried, but it seemed like she really was going to let them leave. The group was just beginning to relax when the elevator jolted to a screeching halt, making everyone's heart skip a beat.

 _ **"Did you really think I'd let you steal from me?!"**_ Alice shouted in anger and glee as the elevator began to drop. _**"Did you really think I'd just let you go?!"**_

"Tikki! Spots on!" Marinette cried desperately, letting her transformation envelope her as the others screamed in fear.

 _ **"No, Henry! I know who you are Creator!"**_ Alice continued to shout as Marinette changed into Ladybug. _**"And I know why you're here! And you will not stop what needs to be done! Now come down and bring me back my Boris! It's the most perfect Boris I've ever seen and I want it! I need it! I need it's insides so I can be beautiful again! Don't you understand?"**_

"If you have a grudge with me, then I'll stay!" Henry shouted desperately as Nino, Alya and Boris all huddled together in fear. He couldn't let them be killed like this, not after he promised to keep them safe. There had to be something he could do. "Do with me what you want, but let the kids go! They have nothing to do with this. They're innocent! Please, Alice! I beg you!"

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted as soon as she finished transforming, hoping something that will help. There had to be a way out of this.

 _ **"You must really take me for a fool!"**_ Alice laughed hysterically over the speakers. _**"I've seen what that girl can do! The power she has! She can help me finally get rid of the tainted ink infecting me! Don't you get it?! Give them to me! Or better yet, I'll take them! Once… you're… dead!"**_

Ladybug barely had time to glance at the inflatable raft that landed in her hands before she gathered everyone together and pulled the string. It expanded all around them, providing some cushioning when the elevator crashed a moment later. The structure collapsed slightly as the metal doors crumpled inward, raining all sorts of dangerous shrapnel on the inhabitants within. While the raft had managed to protect them from any serious injuries, the group was far from unharmed.

Henry, Alya, and Nino were all unconscious and covered with all sorts of scrapes and scratches. Marinette was still awake, though barely as her transformation ended. Tikki collapsed on the ground next to her, thoroughly drained from all the transformations without any way to properly recover. Boris was the least harmed and went to check on Henry, shaking him to see if he could wake him up. Henry was the Creator and Boris was positive he could fix this somehow. Henry groaned as he slowly awoke, encouraging Boris's efforts so that he continued his shaking. Henry blinked blearily as he stared up the toon wolf before his eyes widened when he spotted Alice approaching. Henry tried to warn Boris but was unable to form the words before Alice dragged the wolf away. Henry longed to help, but only blacked out again.

Marinette saw what happened and tried to get up, but her limbs refused to cooperate. Her vision began to dim when she saw Alice return for her. Just before Alice could grab her a dark shadowy figure came and attacked her. Alice tried to strike at the figure, but the figure easily dodged and returned with a blow of its own. Alice shrieked in rage but retreated rather quickly to escape her attacker, leaving Marinette behind. The figure turned to Marinette and reached out for her. Marinette could just make out what looked like horns and a white bow tie before she blacked out completely.


	33. Chapter 33

**IMPORTANT AN:** **So I'm super hyped for Chapter 5 and it motivated to do a ton of writing for this story. So to celebrate Chapter 5 release, starting Monday I'm going to post a new chapter 3very day through Friday. After that, I'll be busy playing the new chapter and figuring out what I'll work into my story. You don't want to miss it!**

 **Chapter 33:**

"Joey, what have you done?"

 _ **"Trapped for so long… I can't take it anymore!"**_

 _"I just want to go home? When do we go home?"_

 _ **"The Creator's here. He'll save us."**_

 _"Sheep sheep, it's time for sleep."_

 _ **"Enslaved, can't break out…"**_

 _"Dreams come true Susie…"_

 _ **"Just hold on a little more. Please…"**_

"It's my job to protect you kids. Even superhero ones."

 **"I must protect my lady."**

 _"It's time to believe."_

 _ **"I just want this to end!"**_

 _"I'm out of here."_

 _ **"I will break free!"**_

"Alright, Joey. I'm here. Let's see if I can find what you wanted me to see."

Henry gasped as he woke up, the remnants of the voices he heard slipping from his mind. Henry wasn't sure how long he was unconscious this time, but he was pretty sure it must have been several hours. Henry sat up with a groan, his head throbbing and his whole body sore. He briefly wondered if getting knocked unconscious was becoming a habit here as he rubbed his temples in an effort to relieve his headache. Then everything from the elevator crash came rushing back.

He looked around and was surprised to see he was outside the elevator. Looking to his right, Henry saw Alya and Nino laid out next to him. It was obvious someone had moved them from the wreckage, he could even see makeshift bandages on them. They were breathing easily and from what Henry could tell, they were fine. But who would have taken care of them? And why would they patch them up only to leave them here?

Realizing he hadn't seen Marinette yet and remembering Alice's words, Henry looked around desperately for her. He finally spotted her sitting in a corner with what he swore was the Ink Demon leaning over her. Henry started to shout at the Ink Demon, but when Henry blinked, he was gone. Brushing it off for now as a result of being knocked out again, Henry carefully got up and made his way over to Marinette. She seemed fine, though she did have a bandage on her head. When he looked closer, Henry was despaired to see inky veins starting to come down from her hairline. A groan from behind Henry drew his attention. It seemed that Alya and Nino were stirring.

"Ugh, Why do I feel like I was hit by a truck," Alya murmmered as she got up.

"Well it was an elevator drop, but you were close," Henry replied with a slight smile, coming over and helping her up. He was relieved to see them that they were alright.

"Remind me never to do that again," Alya joked as Henry helped Nino to his feet. "Where's Marinette?"

Marinette let out a groan before Henry could answer, drawing the attention of the group. They went over to help her up.

"Oh no, Marinette!" Alya exclaimed once she saw the ink veins. "Not you too…"

"What's the matter?" Marinette wondered as she focused on those around her. "Wait… Where's Tikki?"

"I'm right here." The little red kwamii replied sadly, floating up onto Marinette's shoulder with a yawn. "I'm alright, though I'm afraid, you aren't doing so well."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked, slightly alarmed.

"You have the same inky veins that Adrian had," Henry informed. "You've must have been infected when you went under the ink during the fight with the Projectionist."

"I did notice I got cut on my head from crashing into the statue," Marinette admitted, feeling the injury lightly under the bandage. "So I probably shouldn't transform if I can help it. I'm not going to end up with a link with the Ink Demon too am I?"

"Unlikely," Tikki replied thoughtfully as she looked Marinette over. "Adrian was infected by the Ink Demon himself. You were infected by general ink, so it's unlikely that you will be connected to any of these other creatures. But I'm still not sure exactly what effect the ink will have on you."

"Well there's nothing we can do about it right now," Marinette decided firmly, waving of the other's concerns. "There's still the psycho angel out there."

"And she has Boris," Henry reluctantly agreed. He and the others didn't like having to just drop the subject of Marinette's infection, but there really wasn't anything they could do right now. All they could do was make sure they didn't lose anyone else. "I'm glad she didn't get you too Marinette."

"I think… something stopped her…" Marinette replied slowly, trying to recall what happened. "It almost looked like… I can't remember… my memories to fuzzy."

"That's not surprising considering what we just through," Henry assured, patting Marinette on the shoulder. "Let's just be glad that you're alright and focus on getting Boris back."

The teens nodded in agreement before following Henry down the hallway away from the destroyed elevator. They came to an intersection with a sign declaring they were on Level S. The sign said Grant Cohen's office to the right with the Archives and R&D Access to the left.

"We should go to the left," Henry decided after looking at the sign. "I'm sure we'll find more down that direction, maybe even some answers in the Archives."

The group made their way down the left hallway but didn't get very far because of a steal hatch blocking their way.

"Definitely something missing here," Henry said, examining the door. "It looks like the handle's been removed. We'll need to find something we can use to replace it."

"Maybe there's something we can use down the other hallway," Marinette suggested.

"Worth a shot," Henry agreed. They went down the right hallway and came to a door with a sign saying management on it. They opened the door to discover that the walls were just covered in random words and phrases all across the walls and even on the floor. They couldn't make out a whole lot in the mess of writing, but they could make out the word "taxes" and the phrase "time is money" written over and over again. It looked like the room of a madman.

The group slowly went inside, almost afraid to touch anything. Marinette began looking through a filing cabinet while Henry examined an exposed pipe. Alya and Nino looked over the desk. Just as Henry found a valve they could use for the door, Nino pressed play on the tape recorder on the desk. The room was filled with indistinct noises and sounds that chilled everyone listening. They could hear what sounded like the groan of a searcher just before the tape cut off.

"What was that?" Nino couldn't help but ask in the silence that followed.

"I don't know and it doesn't matter," Henry decided, herding the teens out of the room. "I found what we needed, let's just move on."

The teens were more than happy to get out of the room and leave it far behind.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34:**

Luckily the valve Henry had found was a perfect fit in the door and they were able to get the door opened. When they stepped through into the archives, they were greeted by lights turning on one by one and spotlighting what appeared to be another shrine, though it was a lot different than the ones they had come across before. There was a large Bendy statue with a sign with "He Will Set Us Free" painted above it. Standing around the Bendy statue in various desperate pleading positions were statues of inky people that looked uncomfortably like Emily, the searcher Marinette had tried to purify.

"Are those statues or actual ink creatures?" Alya asked as the group paused at the doorway, studying the display before them.

"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised either way," Marinette replied with a shrug. "But they haven't moved at all."

"Yet," Nino spoke up, sounding a mix of serious and teasing. "Monsters in movies always wait until after you've left the room."

"Not the time Nino," Alya scolded, giving him a shove. "Not after everything we've seen."

"Let's keep the monster movie talk to a minimum until we're out of this ink creature filled hell shall we," Henry agreed before talking a few steps closer to the shrine. "But I think we're fine. Let's keep going."

The group carefully went around the shrine into a circler library. They passed down between the two shelves of dusty books. The group looked over the books, but most of the titles were worn and unintelligible. Henry pulled one out several books and flipped through them out of curiosity. A few were financial records, a few were employ files, but a lot of them seemed to be about the supernatural. Those books were usually in different languages so he couldn't really make heads or tails of them. Henry shoved the books back into the shelves in frustration and kept moving. The group soon came to a gap on the inner shelves and they were able to enter the inner study. There was a table with a tape recorder on it and the group gathered around it.

 _"They told me I was perfect for the role,"_ Susie's angry desperate voice came clearly. _"Absolutely perfect. Now Joey's going around saying things behind closed doors. I can always tell. Now he wants to meet again tomorrow, says he has an "opportunity" for me. I'll hear him out. But if that smooth talker thinks he can double cross an angel and get away with it, well, oh he's got another thing coming. Alice, ooh she doesn't like liars."_

"How much do you want to bet that "opportunity" was turning Susie into that ink creature," Henry noted bitterly, clenching his fist in anger. "Making her desperate enough to take apart in his twisted schemes. Let's keep going."

The teens wanted to say something to comfort Henry, but they couldn't find the words as he stormed past them. The teens followed behind as Henry came to a door. There wasn't any obvious door handle or way to open it. Nino noticed a protruding book and on a hunch, pushed it in. As soon as the book slid into place, there was a click and one of the lights over the door turned on.

"So that's how it works," Henry noted after seeing what happened. "Let's find the other books."

The group split up into two smaller groups. Marinette and Alya went down one direction while Henry and Nino went down the other direction.

"Found one!" Marinette called while Alya pushed the book in.

"Us too," Nino called back as Henry put the third book in. As soon as it clicked into place, Henry let out a shout of fear. He held his head as if it was in pain and his eyes looked around wildly. Nino tried to ask what was wrong, but Henry didn't even seem to hear him. At the same time, Marinette gripped her head in pain, though that was all she did.

The whole incident passed by in a few seconds and soon both Marinette and Henry seemed to recover, though Henry did still seem a little shaken.

"What happened just now?" Alya asked as they met up in the middle.

"I don't know, just that felt a spike of pain through my head just now," Marinette replied, rubbing her head in memory. "But it didn't last very long. It was weird."

"Did any of you see what was going on?" Henry asked, slightly worried.

"What kind of things?" Marinette asked concerned.

"Lights were flashing and everything was just moving wildly. None of you saw that?" Henry said, feeling really worried when all the teens shake their heads. "What is going on? Doesn't matter, we still need to find those books."

The teens reluctantly agreed. Nino and Henry looked in the inner study while Aya and Marinette went to check the previous room.

"Guys, the statues are gone!" Alya called as she and Marinette hurried back to the others.

"Let's get out of here then," Henry said, pushing the last book in. "The door should be open now and we should leave before those ink creatures decide to do something."

He lead the way through the archives' door and onto a platform in a huge cave. Looking over the edge, they couldn't see the bottom, only darkness. Hanging all around them from thick chains were several cages. The group shuddered at imaging what had been held within them. Henry knocked a crate over the edge of the platform, but they couldn't even hear it hit the bottom.

"How is this place so big?" Alya wondered in astonishment.

"I gave up knowing anything that's going on here," Henry replied with a sigh. "Let's just keep going. We need to get to Boris before that crazy angel can do to him what she's done with all the others."

The teens nodded in determination and the group headed up the rickety stairs farther into the darkness beyond.


	35. Chapter 35

**AN: Don't worry HeliX Sol, Noir will be showing up again before the end of Chapter 4.**

 **Chapter 35:**

The group went up the rickety ink-stained stair, passing a giant dripping pipe and a few Bendy cutouts that were somehow embedded in the stone walls of the cave. They came to a larger platform with a couple of machines on it. One of them was for a lift that crossed the cave to an exit on the other side. The other smaller machine was back by the cave wall, but it wasn't immediately obvious what its purpose was. Henry and Marinette went to examine the lift controls while Alya and Nino looked over the other random machine.

"We can get across here if I can find a way to fix this," Henry said, having discovered what was wrong. "We just need to find a gear that fits here."

"If we need to, I can always use my lucky charm," Marinette suggested, ignoring Tikki's angry and worried glance. "I've gotten a lot weirder and more complicated objects then a simple gear."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Henry replied with a slight shake of his head. "We've seen all sorts of gears and random parts scattered throughout this studio. I'm sure we'll find a gear if we just look around long enough."

"We might not have to," Alya jumped, gesturing for Henry and Marinette to come to where she and Nino were by the machine. "We think we've figured out what this machine does."

"From what we could tell, it's used to make various objects," Nino explained, gesturing to various parts of the machine. "You turn this wheel to select what you want to make, then turn this crank. Whatever is put in this trough is then cycled through the machine most likely to make the object. We just need to figure out what goes in the trough."

"Probably ink," Henry stated, looking over the machine himself. "Ink seems to be making up so much of what's in the studio already, I would not be surprised if objects are made from ink as well."

"Should we just grab some from that pipe?" Marinette suggested, waving over at the pipe in the cave wall.

"Can't be that easy," Henry replied, glancing over as well. "And I really don't want to risk anyone leaning over that gap. "Let's check out that hallway first. Maybe we'll find something useful down there."

The teens nodded and followed Henry down the hallway. They turned a corner and came to a small room with a large pipe taking up most of the interior space. Henry noticed a lever by the doorway which he pulled, causing the large pipe to slowly open. Revealed was a vat of bubbling steaming ink.

"This is probably the ink we need," Marinette observed. "How are we going to get some?"

"Well we definitely shouldn't just stick our hand in it," Henry joked slightly, working his way around the pipe to a smaller pipe with a valve. "But maybe this will do something that will help."

Henry turned the valve only for a swollen searcher to emerge with a groan. The group shouted in surprise and fear, jumping back slightly in case the searcher decided to attack. Everyone froze were they stood, waiting to see what would happen, but several minutes passed and the swollen didn't do anything. It didn't even turn around.

"What now?" Alya finally whispered after nothing had happened. Henry didn't answer right away as he had noticed unusually large lump of thick ink on the searcher's back. Acting on a whim, Henry reached out and grabbed the lump. It came off rather easily and luckily it didn't make the searcher attack. Instead, the searcher just let out another groan and sunk back into the ink.

"Hopefully this will work," Henry said, showing the others the ink in his hand. "Let's get this back to that machine."

The group made their back through the hallway and Henry dropped the ink into the trough. Making sure that the machine was on the gear setting, Henry turned the crank. The ink flowed into the machine and began to rumble. The group stepped back as the machine dinged and a ball of ink popped out. It solidified and formed into a gear as it hit the ground. Henry picked it up and tested it in his hands. It seemed solid and felt like metal, even though it had obviously just been ink.

"This should work," Henry decided, taking the gear over to the lift controls. It fits in easily and when Henry pulled the lever, the lift turned on and the lift began coming towards them.

"Do you think it can hold all of us?" Alya asked as they watched the rickety thing approach, eyeing it doubtfully.

"It's a risk we'll have to take," Henry said firmly, leaving no room for protest. "We can't risk getting split up. I'm sure we'll be fine."

They cautiously piled into the lift and began to cross the chasm. About halfway across, the lift stuttered, making everyone look around in panic. Marinette was about to transform when the lift smoothed out and they were able to get across the rest of the way. They scrambled off the lift as soon as it reached the other side.

"Let's agree to never go on that thing again," Nino joked slightly as the group recovered. They chuckled slightly as they all nodded.

"Hopefully we won't have to," Henry said as he straightened up, brushing off dust. "Come on, we need to keep going. Boris is counting on us."

The teens straightened in silent agreement. The group headed through the door, ending up in a shabby hallway. As soon the door closed behind them, both Marinette and Henry gripped their heads in pain. But once again, Marinette was only feeling a throbbing in her head. Henry was assaulted by once again by visions, this time of inky hands reaching through the walls, trying to grab him. But worse than the vision was the voices he was now hearing with it.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36:**

 _ **"Creator!"**_

 _"Save us!"_

 _ **"Please!"**_

 _"I just want out!"_

 _ **"Help Me!"**_

 _"I beg you!"_

 _ **"Free us!"**_

All those pleading desperate voices of those reaching out for Henry through the wall. All of them begging for his help and it broke his heart that he had no idea how he could help them. Even as the voices and vision faded away, Henry could still hear them echoing his head and his heart. They were in such pain and they were looking to him for help, to find some way to save them. He to find some way to fix this nightmare, to find some way to end this misery.

"Did you see something again?" Marinette asked Henry. Even though he wasn't crying, it was obvious something had deeply upset him. Marinette almost wished she had seen what Henry had just so she would have a better idea how to comfort him.

"Just a reminder that we have to undo everything that Joey did to the victims here," Henry muttered, shaking himself out his thoughts. There wasn't anything he could do right now for the people trapped here. He could only focus on what he could do right now and that was to keep the kids with him safe and find a way to rescue Boris. "Let's go."

The teens followed along silently as they went down the hallway. Alya and Nino felt terrible. Adrain, Marinette, and Henry have all sacrificed so much to keep them safe. And as a result, they were slowly losing their friends to the ink. Adrian was already transformed into an ink monster and was who knows where. Marinette was infected and who knew who long before she was taken over. And Henry, something was seriously wrong with Henry even if they had no idea what. In all likely hood, this place had probably infected him too at some point. All of this because Nino and Alya were being protected.

It hurt Aly and Nino to watch their friends slowly deteriorate with nothing they could do to stop it. All they could do was make sure that the sacrifices their friends have made weren't in vain. They would make sure they stayed safe and stay out of their way and watch their backs. It was the only thing they could do and hope that they didn't lose any more of their friends before they got out of the studio.

The group came out of the hallway into a large shaft with stairs going up around a gap in the center. Chains were moving down into the darkness below.

 _"I see you there,_ _ **my little errand boy,**_ _"_ Alice's voice came over the speakers, making the group look around and glare. _"Your angel is_ _ **always watching**_ _."_

Henry decided to ignore Alice and head up the stairs. The teens scrambled after him.

" _What is it that keeps you going?"_ Alice continued mockingly. _"_ _ **Is it the thrill of the hunt?**_ _The thirst for your freedom and those that you protect? Or perhaps…_ _**You're just looking for a little, friendly wolf…**_ _"_

"Don't you dare hurt him, Alice!" Henry shouted into the air. "Or I'm going to make you regret it."

 _"My, my… you're_ _ **feisty today**_ _,"_ Alice teased, unconcerned by Henry's threat. _"I would suggest a trade,_ _ **a wolf for the ladybug,**_ _but I know you'll never go for it. Besides, it looks like the_ _**ink has already sunk its claws into her.**_ _Better to wait to see how_ _ **she turns out.**_ _Who knows, she might even become good enough to_ _ **become the next guest on my table**_ _. Better hurry errand boy. Boris is having trouble_ _ **staying in one piece**_ _."_

"Don't you even think about laying a hand on the kids!" Henry shouted, slamming a fist into the wall. "If you do, I will show no mercy!"

Alice gave no response and Henry hurried up the stairs. Marinette had stopped when Alice had talked about her, making her shudder in fear. Alya hugged in comfort, but when they saw Henry speeding up the stairs they quickly went after him with Nino trailing after them. They soon came to the end of the stairs and into a small room with a couple of couches. Henry barely glanced around as he marched forward to the door on the other side.

"He's going to find me…" came a voice from above Henry, making him and the teens freeze in place. It wasn't Alice and it wasn't coming from a speaker. They looked around and spotted and inky figure on the balcony above them. It looked a lot like those statues, like Emily, though it didn't seem to be paying attention to them.

"He always finds me…" the ink person said, looking back and forth. "I just want to go home. When do we go home?"

The ink person walked off to the side out of sight, sobbing and hugging himself. The group waited for a moment until they could no longer hear the cries of the ink person.

"How could a searcher look like that without Marinette purifying it?" Alya wondered out loud, breaking the silence. "That couldn't have been Emily, it didn't sound anything like her."

"The corrupted magic is so unpredictable almost anything could happen," Tikki reiterated. "It's probably just an ink creature that is closer to the original human than a searcher. So when Marinette attempted to purify searcher, that was the next closest thing."

"So if I were to purify a creature like that one, it'll become even more human?" Marinette theorized.

"That would be my guess," Tikki replied slowly. "But it still wouldn't be stable. You need to find the source of the magic. It's the only way you can safely and permanently undo what's been done."

"We'll find the source," Henry declared firmly, still looking at where the ink creature has come. "Even if it takes everything I have, I won't stop until we can free them from what Joey's done. But we won't do that standing around here. Let's keep moving."

The teens nodded with conviction and followed after Henry across the room. Henry threw the door open, only to freeze at seeing what was inside. It was a large room with a crowd of ink people standing within, huddled together and sobbing. As soon as they heard the door open, they all looked up and stared at Henry with their glowing yellow eyes.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37:**

Both the ink people and the humans froze, staring at each other for what the other might do.

 _"It's the Creator!"_ one of the ink people whispered in awe and fear. That sentence seemed to break the spell and the room irrupted into whispers.

 _ **"The Creator!"**_

 _"Is he here to save us?"_

 _"He's here too late."_

 _"No one can save us."_

 _ **"The girl's been infected."**_

 _ **"We're all doomed."**_

 _"The ink will claim them as it claimed us."_

The whispers never got very loud and it became hard to hear anything specific as more and more ink people joined in.

"What should we do?" Nino asked, feeling uncomfortable under all the stares.

"We need to keep going if we want to find Boris," Henry replied. "We need to get past them."

"I don't think they'll hurt us," Marinette added, looking over all the ink people.

"They just seem sad," Alya agreed.

"I think so too, but stick close to me just in case," Henry agreed taking a step forward. "Come on."

The group slowly made their way past all the ink people. The ink people didn't try to stop or attack them, though a few did reach out longingly towards Henry. It was almost like they wanted to know if he was real, but they couldn't stand to find out they were wrong so they never actually touched him. Seeing all those yellow eyes look at him with hope and sorrow broke Henry's heart and made him even more determined to find some way to save everyone in the studio.

They soon came to a large open vent on the other side of the room and Henry picked up a nearby flashlight. He was about to head in and lead the kids through the vent when one of the ink people called out to him.

"Creator wait!" the ink person said, reaching out to Henry and taking a step forward. The humans looked at each other, wondering what they should do.

"Wait for me inside the vent," Henry sighed, handing the flashlight to Marinette. "I'll be there in a minute."

Marinette just nodded and took the flashlight, she could understand why Henry wanted to talk to these people. She crawled into the vent with Alya and Nino right behind her. Henry stepped in front of the vent and faced the ink people.

"What is it?" Henry asked, wondering if he should try and get some answers.

"Creator… are you here to save us?" the ink person asked, the others gathering closer to try and hear his answer.

"I'm going to try," Henry replied with conviction. "I may not understand what Joey did, but I'm going to fix what he's done here."

"The Liar messed with powers he shouldn't have," the ink person said in anger, its eyes flashing. "He tortured and corrupted the innocent. He forced all of us to be a part of his plans, pawns in his goal."

"Can you be more specific?" Henry asked, stepping a little closer to the ink people wishing he could comfort them.

"Too much happened and there's no time to share every awful thing the Liar has done, even if we could recall all of it," the ink person shook his head sadly. "The important thing is that the Liar is the real enemy that must be stopped. Though there are still dangers, the Liar is the cause. Please be careful when you face him, he made this place and he considers himself its ruler. He won't want to be uncrowned so easily, but you're the true Creator. You can reach places and do things that the Liar never could."

"Thanks for the advice," Henry said, unsure what to make of what he learned and wondering if he can live up to their hopes. "I'll keep that in mind, but I have to get going."

"Please be careful Creator…" The crowd of ink people murmured in reassurance as Henry crawled into the vent. Henry gave a nod to them before going in farther. It wasn't long before he caught up to the others that were waiting for him. Once he caught up, Marinette leads the way through farther through the vent, using the flashlight to show the way. She could see a way out up ahead. Just as she got close, the Ink Demon slammed against it, causing all of them to shout in surprise and fear.

"You!" Marinette shouted, getting over her fear for anger instead. "You are the one that infected Adrian! You have been causing us nothing but problems!"

"Marinette stop!" Ala said, holding back Marinette. "Don't make him mad!"

"Like I care what he thinks," Marinette practically snarled, the inky veins pulsing with her emotions.

"Calm down!" Henry ordered. "Marinette, getting mad won't help anything!"

Marinette didn't like it, but she forced herself to calm down, though she still glared at the Ink Demon. The Ink Demon for his part just stared at them curiously, even tilting his head slightly as he studied them. He grabbed hold of the grate, leaning closer and about to open the vent when he suddenly jerked back. He shook his head and even gripped it before straightening up and heading off and out of sight.

"What was that about?" Nino wondered as the Ink Demon's shadows disappeared.

"Don't know and don't care. Let's find somewhere else to come out," Marinette said, going around the corner. Alya and Nino just shrugged and followed after her. Henry though paused at the grate, briefly laying his hand where Bendy's hand had been.

"I know there's a reason you're like this," Henry murmured. "Whether it was something Joey did or some other reason, I'll find a way to fix this. I know the toon I created and loved is still in there somewhere. No matter what, I'm not leaving you here again."

Henry let go of the grate and hurried after the others. There was a lot to do, starting with saving Boris. But first, they had to get out of this vent.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38:**

It only took Henry a moment to catch up to the others who were debating which way to go at a fork in the vent.

"Which way to go…" Marinette muttered as she tried to look down both ways for a hint about which way to go.

"Wait.. Do hear that?" Alya spoke up looking towards the left where a strange thumping sound could be faintly heard. "We should check it out."

"I thought we were supposed to be avoiding any monsters and horror movie clichés at all costs," Nino teased slightly, nudging Alya. "And going after strange sounds is like… horror movie 101 of things that are bad ideas."

"But I rather know what it is rather than be surprised later," Marinette reasoned. "What do you think Henry?"

"I think we should check it out just to be safe," Henry decided after a moment of thought. "But be careful in case it's a monster of some sort."

The other agreed and they moved as quietly as possible through the vent. They came to a grate that overlooked a small room. Inside was one of the ink people, banging his head against the wall.

"Should we… do something..?" Alya asked quietly after they watched for a few moments. "Isn't he hurting himself doing that?"

"I… I don't think there is anything we can do…" Marinette replied sadly.

"He's trapped in his own misery right now…" Tikki agreed. "It's better to leave him and continue your search for the source."

"Then let's keep going," Henry concluded, backing up and leading them down the other path. The wandered around a little longer before they finally spilled out into a large room. Looking around, they saw a large Bendy statue to their right with a closed metal door to the left. In front of them was some stairs with a painted sign that said: "Come up and see me".

"I'm not the only one that thinks that's a trap am I?" Alya said sarcastically, gesturing to the sign.

"Oh, it definitely seems like a trap," Marinette agreed.

"But I don't see anywhere else we can go," Henry said as he looked at the door. "I don't see a way to open the door so the stairs are the only option. So just stick together and be prepared for anything."

The group stuck close together as they made their way up the stairs. When they got to the top of the first flight, the words "Almost There" were painted on the wall. It did little to comfort the group and Marinette mentally prepared herself to transform. Going up the last flight of stairs, they weren't greeted by a monster as they expected. Instead, they came to an office with what looked like blueprints spread across the table and all over the walls.

"A theme park..?" Henry said in surprise as he looked over the blueprints. "Joey was planning to make a Bendy theme park?"

"Maybe this tape will give us some answers," Alya suggested, pressing play for them to hear.

 _"For forty years, I've built attractions that stagger the imagination!"_ A proud male voice filled the room. _"Colossal wonders such as the world has never seen! I have earned my legacy with sweat. But right in front of everyone… high-level investors, Wall Street tycoons, the ever tactless Joey Drew introduces me, the great Bertrum Piedmont, as Bertie! Like I was his child. You may be paying me, Mister Drew! But you don't own me! I'll build you a park bigger than anything YOU could ever possibly conceive! But before you go taking any bows, Mister Drew, know that this grand achievement will belong to me… and to me alone."_

"I've heard of Bertrum Piedmont," Henry commented once the tape finished. "He used to be a big name back in the day, but he disappeared a long time ago. I guess he got caught up in Joey's madness."

"And it sounds like he had an ego to match Joey's" Marinette joked dryly. "And we'll save him like everyone else. Come on, I spotted a switch over there."

The group made their way around the table and flipped the switch. They heard a creak of a door opening and they went to the top of the stairs to see that the metal door had opened. They made their way down towards the door, but they couldn't really see anything with how dark it was. They stepped through and lights began to turn on. They showed a large room with looked like parts and decorations for various rides and games. Above it, all was a sign that said: "Bendy Land" only the word "Hell" was painted over the "land" part.

"Why in the world are they building the rides all the way down here?" Alya burst out in shock as they took everything in. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"Nothing makes sense in here remember," Nino joked, referring to Alya saying something similar to Nino in the Heavenly Toys department.

"You're right," Alya chuckled at the irony.

"Let's keep going," Henry instructed, heading down the stairs. They passed by a closed door and found another tape recorder by some closed booths.

 _"These guys down in the warehouse get to play games all day while I'm stuck cleaning up after 'em!"_ Wally's voice came through once Henry pressed play. _"They kept locking themselves out of their own back rooms. So I says to em, look guys, I says, you're smart, right? Here's an idea! Why not rig these games up to knock open the door if ya win? It'll be fun for you guys, and it saves me the trip down here every day. They went for it like a dog to pot roast. I tell you! If these guys don't start realizing who the real genius is, I'm outta here!"_

"So the games open the doors," Henry concluded, putting the tape down. "That will probably be useful to know later. Come on…"

They walked further in and come to what seemed to be the front of a haunted house.

"This haunted house seems like the way to go," Henry determined as he looked it over. "But it's going to need some power. Hang in there, Boris. I'm coming."

Almost as if to respond to Henry's observation, more lights turned on and the game booths opened up, making the group jump slightly.

"Now that was creepy…" Nino said.

"We do know Alice is watching us," Marinette replied quietly. "She's probably guiding us somewhere."

"Unfortunately we have no choice but to go along with it for now," Henry sighed in frustration. Come on, let's play those games and get the doors open. Boris is counting on us."

 **AN: And that brings us to the end of my week of Bendy. I'll be going back to my regular schedule of updating on Friday mornings. Now, I'm off to refresh steam every five minutes until Chapter 5 comes out.**


	39. Chapter 39

**AN: Chapter 5 was awesome and mind-blowing, though if you hadn't noticed already, this story is going off canon as I am working towards my own ending. But it got me on a huge writing spree, I've already finished chapter 4 and am well into Chapter 5. So I'm going to be posting chapter for this storyh twice a week. See you Tuesday!**

 **Chapter 39:**

Henry walked up to the closest game, picking up the hammer while the teens gathered around him. It took him a few swings, but he managed to ring the bell. But instead of having a door open, they heard Alice come over the speaker.

 _"Tell me, are you having_ _ **fun**_ _?"_ Alice teased condescendingly. _"I'm sure Boris doesn't mind waiting for_ _ **his rescue party.**_ _"_

Henry glared in the direction of the haunted house before shrugging it off. "Come on, let's try a different game."

The group moved on to a bottle toss game.

"Allow me," Marinette picking up the three balls from the booth with a grin. "I've got great aim after tossing my yo-yo around so often."

Marinette wound up and released the ball, easily knocking down the first stack of bottles, getting cheers from the others. Two more perfect throws and the game let out a victory jingle.

"You weren't kidding about the aim," Henry congratulated. "But I don't see a door opening up yet. Let's do the next game."

They went over to the shooting gallery. It took them several rounds and they traded taking turns playing as they got frustrated. Finally, Nino was able to get enough targets and after the victory jingle, a door opened, much to their relief. They went in, greeted by a bunch of creepy Bendy mascot outfits hanging on the wall with a switch nearby. They quickly pulled the switch and got out of there. They followed the cord to a panel next to the haunted house with a lot of switches on it Henry pulled the first one and they could hear a door opening nearby.

They looked around and spotted a door opening with a sign saying "Research and Design" hanging over it. They carefully went in to find a balcony. On the floor below them, the Butcher gang were standing around a burning metal drum. Luckily they seemed completely focused on the fire and hadn't noticed them.

"Looks like we've got some company up ahead…" Henry thought out loud. "Without some kind of weapon, we don't stand a chance. There's gotta be a way around them."

"I could transform…" Marinette began.

"Not an option!" Henry immediately cut in. "I'm not losing any more of you kids. We'll think of another way…"

"Maybe that mallet from that one game," Nino half-heartedly suggested. "And there is plenty of bacon soup lying around…"

"Please, I've had enough of bacon soup," Alya rolled her eyes. "It looks like most of them are empty anyway so they're useless…"

When Alya went to grab the empty can from the railing, she accidentally knocked it over, sending it clatter on the floor below. The group ducked down and watched as the Butcher Gang left the fire to investigate the noise. They stared at the empty can for a few moments before going back to the fire. Once they were sure that they weren't going to move again, the group stood back up.

"That gives me an idea…" Henry began, looking around. "Everyone, gather as many empty soup cans as you can find."

The teens nodded and spread out all around the balcony looking for soup cans. Soon everyone had an arm full of cans and they gathered back around Henry for what to do next.

"Good job everyone. Alya and Nino, you two will stay up here," Henry instructed. "You'll use the soup cans to distract the Butcher Gang while Marinette and I sneak into the hallways down there."

"Yes! Finally, you're letting us help!" Alya said eagerly, holding soup cans at the ready. "Let's do this!"

The others chuckled a little at her enthusiasm before Marinette and Henry headed towards the stairs. They carefully made their down to the bottom. Once they were in position, Henry signaled to Alya and Nino. They threw the cans to the right, leading the Butcher gang over in that direction. Henry and Marinette then quickly and quietly made their way down the left hallway.

Once they were out of sight, Henry and Marinette looked around. To their left, there was a bunch of shelves and to their right the was an ink person curled up crying. Walking farther in, they came to set of work tables with mechanical parts on them. One desk had a switch next to it and tape recorder on top.

"That's two," Henry muttered as he flipped the switch. Looking over at the desk, he saw that it had apparently belonged to a Lacie Benton. He then pressed play on the recorder to see what happened.

 _"The only thing that works around here is my ulcer,"_ Came a voice that they assumed was Lacie's. _"Half these people don't know a wrench from a dang steamroller. Buncha morons is what they are. Spend their day in the warehouse arguin' over who's supposed to be doin' what or playing them silly games. Still, I'm not complanin'. I get most of my time to myself. Suits me just fine. Only thing that bothers me is that mechanical demon in the corner. Bertrum's been working on it for a month now. Says it will walk someday and maybe dance. All it does now is give me the creeps. I swear, when my back's turned… that thing's movin'."_

Henry and Marinette immediately turn to the corner that was mentioned, half expecting to see the animatronic Bendy coming after them. But all they say was a half completed robot that couldn't possibly move, especially since it seemed to be missing a few parts. They stared at it for a few more minutes just to be sure before heading back down the hallway. With Alya and Nino's help, they were able to sneak down the right hallway. All that was in it was a switch which they flipped easily. They then snuck their way to the stairs. The Butcher Gang spotted them and tried to attack them, but Henry and Marinette were able to quickly make their way up the stairs before they could reach them. They met up with the others and headed back out into the main warehouse.


	40. Chapter 40

**AN: Here's the Tuesday update as promised. I've also finished outlining the rest of the story and I can say with confidence there's going to be 58 chapters of this story. I think you guys will love what I have planned. Once I finish writing it...**

 **Chapter 40:**

The group flipped the next switch by the haunted house and they once more heard another door open. It took a little to find, but they eventually went through the door in the back corner of the warehouse called attraction storage. They walked down the hallway and into a large room with an octopus ride. In front of it was a desk with only a tape recorder on it. The group paused at the entrance, feeling a sense of foreboding from the room for some reason. But as they could see no sign of danger, they cautiously approached the desk and played the recorder.

"The biggest park ever built, a centerfold of attractions…" came Bertrum Piedmont's voice. But something was wrong. Even though they had pressed play, the voice didn't seem to be coming from the recorder… "Each one, more grand than the one before it. It makes my eyes come to tears at the thought. But then… oh, Mister Drew."

The group huddled together as the voice took a darker tone, looking around to try and find the source of the voice.

"For all your talk of dreams, you are the architect behind so many nightmares." Bertrum continued angerly. "I built this park. It was to be a masterpiece! My masterpiece! And now you think you can just throw me out? Trample me to the dust and forget me? No! This is my park! My glory! You may think I'm gone… But I'm still here! "

The group backed up as they noticed the ride begin to twitch and move. Doors opening up to reveal a large human face much to their shock and horror. The arms moved and one slammed down, barely missing the group as they jumped back and destroying the table.

"Stay back!" Henry commands the teens, spotting an ax among the remains of the table. "I'll take care of this!"

Henry ran forward and grabbed the ax, ducking as a group of cars swung overhead. He moved back as he looked for an opening to attack. One of the arms stopped over him and slammed down. Henry was able to roll out of the way in time and came up in a crouch, ready to attack or run if need be. After the arm slammed in the same spot a few times, it sparked slightly and collapsed. Henry immediately took advantage of this and ran forward. He swung his ax desperately, trying to cause as much damage as he could. He ended up hitting of the joint bolts, causing it to pop off and spray ink. Having identified a weak point, Henry tried to make it to the next bolt but the arm stirred and moved. He tried to move back in time but he wasn't quite fast enough. He was hit in the chest, sending him back towards the walls and knocking the breath out of him.

Henry gasped as he struggled to regain his breath and forced himself to stand. He couldn't be stopped so easily. He had the kids to protect and those trapped in the studio to save. He would push pass this obstacle and anything else this hellhole has to throw at him. Tightening his grip on the ax, Henry looked for an opening and ran forward to hit the next bolt.

"I can't just stand here helplessly!" Marinette declared from where she and the others were taking cover behind some boxes. "I have to do something! Tikki! Spots on!"

Marinette allowed herself to transform, ignoring how it felt off. When she finished, parts of her suit were reversed color and when she felt her head, she found small horns starting to grow. But she didn't have time to worry about that. Henry had just managed to destroy all the bolts on one of the arms, causing it to break and the others to swing around wildly. Ladybug tossed her yo-yo forward, easily wrapping it around Henry and pulling him back to safety just before he would have been hit.

"Marinette!" Henry said in surprise and worry as he took in her appearance. "As much I as appreciate the rescue… you shouldn't have transformed! Quick! Change back before the infection spreads."

"Not this time Henry," Ladybug replied defiantly. "Just like you refuse to let any harm come to us, I refuse to stand by and see you get hurt protecting us. You can't stop me, so we might as well do this together."

"Spoken like a true superhero huh," Henry commented with a wry grin, hefting his ax. "Okay, then let's do this as quickly as possible."

"No problem," Ladybug smirked, swinging her yo-yo around. The two split up and circled around the out of control ride, looking for another chance to attack. Soon another arm came smashing down toward Ladybug. She easily flipped out of the way and they surged forward as soon as the arm stalled. Between the two of them, they were able to get all the bolts and break the arm. Ladybug wrapped an arm around Henry and swung them to safety as the remaining arms sparked and swung around rapidly.

They repeated the process with the last two arms, the ax shattering when Henry destroyed the final bolt. After getting to a safe distance, Ladybug and Henry watched as the center part spun around, releasing all sorts of sparks and steam. Finally, everything came grinding to a halt and doors slowly closed on the now still face. After a few moments of silence, Henry and Ladybug sighed in relief knowing they had won. She ended transformation, but she could see that the ink had already spread down to her shoulders as a result of her becoming Ladybug, turning her eyes yellow as well.

"You guys did it!" Nino cheered as he and Alya hurried over to the others. "And it was totally epic! You just defeated that giant robot!"

"I wish I could have recorded that," Alya agreed with a grin. "But my phone died long ago."

"No matter how cool it looked, I'm just glad it's over with," Henry sighed, gingerly feeling his bruised chest. "Come on, let's find that switch and get out of here."

It took a few minutes but they eventually found the switch in a hidden alcove.

"That makes three, one to go," Henry commented once he flipped it. He then lead the others back to the main warehouse to flip the next switch.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41:**

Henry flipped the next switch, opening the last door. They went over to it, but Henry stopped them before going through.

"Alya, Nino, I want you two to stay here," Henry said. Alya began to protest, but Henry cut her off. "No arguing. The last room was incredibly dangerous and this one could be even more so. I know you two are tough, but we don't have any weapons. Marinette is infected and another transformation could result in the same thing happening to her what happened to Adrien. I don't know exactly what's in there, but I know a smaller group will have a better chance. So please, just stay here where I know you're safe."

"Okay," Alya nodded, swallowing down her worry. "Just don't take too long or we'll be coming in after you!"

"We'll count on it," Marinette smiled, giving Alya's shoulder a squeeze before turning towards the door. She and Henry walked through. They passed several posters of Bend in a train and the words "Choo Choo" scrawled on several walls. They passed through an open hatch and walked further in, only to jump in surprise as the hatch shut behind them. Henry went back to try and open it, but there was no handle on their side.

"This isn't good," Henry muttered as he stepped back. "We're trapped in here as well as whatever else might be lurking around."

"At the very least Alya and Nino should be able to open the door from the other side," Marinette reasoned. "Should we just wait?"

"We might as well find the switch first," Henry decided. "After that, we can worry about the door."

With a sense of foreboding, the two walked away. They came to a set of stairs heading down into an ink flooded room with a Miracle Station up on the top. They started going down but stopped when they heard something moving through the ink. The backed up in surprise and fear when they saw a familiar beam of light.

"How is the Projectionist here?" Marinette whispered in confusion as the watched him slink by. It was hard to make because of the distance and the dim lighting, but Marinette swore she could see a bite mark in the reel in the Projectionist's shoulder.

"I don't know…" Henry murmured, as he watched. "But we'll have to get past it…"

They slowly made their way down the stairs once the Projectionist was out of sight. Coming to the bottom of the stairs, they were able to see that there two train engines being stored in the large room. They could see the Projectionist heading down the side of the left train. As quietly as possible, the two followed after projectionist. They stayed far enough back that they couldn't be seen, but they were able to make sure they weren't caught by surprise. At the end of the left train, they found a flight of stairs, though it was blocked by a lift piled high with bags. Looking around, Henry spotted a switchover by the end of the right train. There was also a tape recorder nearby, but with the Projectionist in such a small room with them, they didn't dare listen to it.

They waited for the Projectionist to start heading down the side of the right train before slowly moving towards the switch. They watched the Projectionist turning down the far corner as they went and flipped the switch. The lift began to rise and the two hurried towards the stairs. They heard the Projectionist screech as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Henry and Marinette hurried up the stairs, thinking they'd be safe, only to see in horror the Projectionist coming up after them. They turned and ran in fear, hurrying around the balcony in an effort to stay out of the Projectionist's reach.

"There's the switch!" Henry shouted, spotting the switch around the next corner. "We just need to pull it as we run by and then try and get to the Miracle Station!"

Marinette nodded in determination and they both increased their speed. Rounding the next corner, Henry reached forward to grab the switch, preparing to move on as soon as he flipped. But as soon as the switch clicked into place, the room was plunged into darkness and they could no longer hear the Projectionist coming. After a few moments, the lights came back on but there was no sign of the Projectionist, even as they looked down into the training room. It was as if the Projectionist just disappeared into thin air.

"What the heck just happened?" Marinette wondered as she looked around.

"At this point, I've given up understanding what's going on here," Henry sighed, leaving the balcony. "Come on, let's see if the door is open."

Marinette and Henry made their way back around the balcony and down the stairs where they once again found the tape recorder. Seeing as the danger seemed to be past, the two decided it was safe to listen to it.

 _"I believe there's something special in all of us,"_ came the voice of Joey Drew. _"With true inner strength, you can conquer even your biggest challenges. You just have to believe in yourself and remain honest, motivated, and above all, who you really are… Ok, let's stop right there. I can only do so many takes of this trash a day. And tell the guys in writing I want more use of the word dreaming in every message. Keep railing on that, get it? Dreaming! Dreaming! Dreaming! People just eat up that kind of slop. Hmm… What? It's still on? Well, turn it off, damn it!"_

"There's the real Joey I loved to hate…" Henry snarled, much to Marinette's surprise. She wasn't sure, but for a moment, she thought she saw his eyes flash yellow. "Always using motivational nonsense to get his way. He never cared about any people… he just used them! He is going to pay for all the pain and misery he caused."

Henry threw the tape recorder against the wall in anger, shattering it into pieces. Henry took several deep breaths to calm himself before turning to the exit, barely glancing at Marinette. "Let's go."

Henry and Marinette headed between the two trains towards the stairs. But the moment they reached the base of the stairs, the terrifying screech of the Projectionist was heard and the light shined from behind them. There was no time to think, they just ran up the stairs. Henry pulled the door open to the Miracle Station and he and Marinette scrambled inside. Henry was able to close the door once Projectionist got to the top of the stairs. It paused in front of the Miracle Station, tilting its head to the sides as if it was confusing. Then it stepped forward and reached for them.

Marinette and Henry barely had time to gasp in fear before Henry's vision warped. The Projectionist screeched and turned to the side to look at something out of sight. A moment later, a black figure jumped forward and began fighting the Projectionist, slashing a deep wound in the Projectionist's side. At first, Marinette thought it was the Ink Demon, but then she saw blonde hair between the horns.

"Adrien…" Marinette whispered as she watched the fight. He was using his claws to continue slashing into the Projectionist, but he was a lot less wild than the last time she had seen him. A lot more in control… After getting punched by Projectionist, Noir growled and held out his hand, allowing inky darkness to gather into it. He lunged forward, pressing the darkness into the chest of the Projectionist. The Projectionist let out a shriek as his body dissolved away and Henry's vision returned to normal.

"Adrien!" Marinette shouted, bursting from the station and embracing Adrien. He was solid and warm… He was truly here…"I was so worried about you. I'm glad you're back."

Noir paused for a moment before wrapping his arms around Marinette as well. "I'm sorry I worried you my Lady, but I'm back now. And I'm not going anywhere…"

 **AN: Do you know how hard it was not to say anything when so many of you were correct in guessing what was going to happen!?**


	42. Chapter 42

**AN: So this chapter and the next one are going to be a bit of a detour to show what Adrien's been through during all this time.**

 **Chapter 42:**

 _ **AngerHateAngerTearYouApartAngerHateHateHowDareYouKillKillKillRipToShreds…**_ Thoughts and feelings flooded through his mind, driving his body to move and attack. He had very little awareness of who he was or what was going on, but none of it mattered. All that mattered was the prey he was hunting and currently doing his best to rip to shreds. He sank his fangs into the metal shoulder, easily ripping it out and causing his prey to shriek in pain. His prey was trying to throw him off, but he refused to let it, sinking his claws deeper to maintain balance. But his prey was more clever than he realized, reaching around to grab him and throwing him away. He slammed into a wall before falling into the ink.

He was dazed only for a moment, the excess ink absorbing into his wounds and restoring him to full strength. He bared his fangs in anger at seeing his prey trying to escape and chased after him. A noise from behind, caused him to stop though. There must have been more enemies than he realized! He quickly turned and growled in warning, daring the two enemies he could now see to attack. They didn't come close, but they were making noises at each other. They must be planning to kill him! With another growl, he ran forward, preparing to dispatch these new enemies.

They shouted at him in fear and desperation, their voices cutting through the fog of hate and anger in him. Those voices were familiar… not of enemies to rip apart… but of dear ones that were meant to be protected… He came to a stop in front of them, blinking as he focused on their features. Why were they so familiar? He backed up shaking his head, trying desperately to make sense of all the contradictory thoughts and instincts. He looked at them again and realized they were his family… his Lady… He was about to attack his Lady!

He felt fear and horror at what he had been about to do, his dread increasing as he could feel his sense of clarity beginning to slip once more. He couldn't allow himself to endanger his Lady… he had to get out now! He quickly turned and fled, ignoring the pleas of his Lady to stay. He couldn't stay, not when he could hurt her! He ran and he ran, having no idea where he 0was headed only that he had to put as much distance between himself and his Lady. It was his only clear thought as feelings and ideas that weren't his own seemed to flood into him from all directions.

It soon became overwhelming and he collapsed, skidding across the floor as he came to a stop. He gripped his head in agony as the screaming of the ink filled his ears, threatening to drag him down with them. The was also another voice, one full of power and hate that almost overwhelmed him. He had to block it all out! He had to stay himself… for his Lady…

He didn't know how long he lay there struggling, but slowly the voices began to dull and he felt more solid in his own body. As he blinked opened his eyes and slowly loosened his grip, he became aware of a flying…insect?.. buzzing around his head. He tried to shoo it away, but it just dodged and buzzed angerly at him. He decided to ignore it and focus on keeping himself together. He looked at his hands, wondering about them. He knew they were different, though he wasn't sure how. He could barely recall anything about himself. All he knew was that he had dear ones he needed to protect… especially his Lady…

His head snapped up and he looked to the side. He didn't know how, but his instincts were telling him his Lady was in danger! He growled and began running toward where he knew his Lady to be. The buzzing insect was following after him, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that he get to his Lady in time. He soon came to a pile of twisted metal and he could smell blood, making him growl in anger. He could see the mad angel reaching for his Lady! He lunged forward, though the mad angel was able to pull back her hand in time. She tried to strike him, but he was far faster and easily more skilled than her. He gave her a scratch on the shoulder, though he could have easily gone for her neck. She seemed to realize this as she looked him in terror. She quickly retreated, knowing she had no chance against him. A part of him wanted to finish her off, but he had more important things to worry about.

He went over to his Lady and carefully picked her up. He took her out of the metal and gently laid her on the floor. Being extra cautious not to let his claws cause any more damage, he checked over his Lady's wounds. Most of them weren't too bad, but he hissed when he saw the wound on her head, especially because it was leaking ink as well as blood. He didn't know why, but he knew that was a really bad thing. He bandages his Lady's wounds as well as he could, before turning back to the pile of metal. He could see others in there, more of his dear ones, that also needed his help. One by one, he pulled out the others and treated their wounds as best he could.

As soon as he finished, he noticed that the buzzing insect wasn't around him. Instead, it was inside the pile of metal. Curious and…maybe… a little concerned… he went to investigate. The black insect was by a red insect that was lying unconscious. He recognized the red one… it belongs to his Lady… carefully scooping up the red one, he took it over to his Lady…

Having done what he could do, he crouched down and watched over his Lady. His only real thought was the need to protect her. He stayed there for a long time, long enough that the red one woke up and began talking to the black inse… no… that wasn't right… not insect… kwamii… Plagg… His thoughts were becoming clearer… He was starting to remember…

A groan drew his attention… It seemed the older one… Henry… was waking up. Knowing that Henry would be able to take care of his Lady and the others, he looked one last time at his Lady before running off into the shadows. It was still safer for him to be away while he sorted through his returning memories.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43:**

He found a quiet and secluded room to hide in, sitting down in a corner. Leaning his head back, he watched as Plagg came flying in after him.

"Hey, Adrien… are you still stuck in your own little world or are you actually listening to me now?" Plagg asked, almost like he was talking to himself though and didn't expect an answer.

Adrien… that was his name… Yes, he remembered now…

"I'm here Plagg…" Adrien replied softly. "Still really messed up and confused, but I'm here…"

"I'm so glad!" Plagg exclaimed in happiness, giving Adrien a hug. "You're finally coming back to your senses. I wish we had cheese to celebrate! I'd even be willing to share it with you right now."

"Glad to see you care so much…" Adrien chuckled, moving to scoop up Plagg, only to stop when he noticed his hands. They were clawed and he was wearing white gloves with his black suit. In the corner of his eye, he saw a spaded tail lazily swishing back and forth. "Though it seems I'm still far from my regular self."

"Yeah, the ink and corrupted magic really did a number on you…" Plagg confirmed, floating back to get a better look at his owner. "And considering how much everything was raging havoc, the fact that you seem to be coming back to your own mind is a testament to your strength of character."

Adrien could only nod as more and more of his memories came flooding back into place. He remembered everything about what had happened to them in the studio. He remembered the ink infecting him and then transforming him. He remembered losing control and nearly attacking Henry and Marinette. He clenched his fist in anger at the thought. He hated how easily he could be turned against his Lady. Time and again he'd be taken over and forced to fight her. He was so useless! Maybe his Lady would be better off without him…

"Hey, stop that," Plagg said, flying up to Adrien's face. "I know that look and you have no right to be doubting yourself now! You have accomplished great things and are one of the best owner's I've ever had. Ladybug is lucky to have you by her side. You got that!"

"Yeah," Adrien smiled. "Thanks for-"

Adrien cut off as he felt something powerful wash over him. Something… deep within the ink was calling out. He felt his own ink and soul reacting and joining in. It was overwhelming, causing his vision to warp and his head to throb. It only lasted a moment before everything snapped back to normal with Plagg looked at him with concern.

"What was that about?" Plagg asked.

"No idea," Adrien shrugged and got to his feet. "I can't really explain it… but I think it has to do with Henry… We should get back to the others."

Adrien began making his way through the hallways of the studio. As he didn't remember traveling through it the first time, he was just wandering in what he felt was the right direction. Any ink creatures he came across either fled at the sight of him or were easily dispatched with his claws. He hadn't traveled very far when he was struck again by the powerful wave calling out. He buckled under the force and leaned up against the wall in an attempt to stay upright. He could hear the voices more clearly as his ink and soul joined in. He couldn't hear the specifics of what was being said, but it all boiled down to one thing… _**Save Us Creator!**_

Adrien shook it off as the wave subsided. Whatever it was that had been calling out had worn itself out. It would be a while before it would be able to make another attempt…

As Adrien's head cleared and the voices subsided, there was one point in his mind that still wasn't quite his own. Mentally prodding it, Adrien was able to sense anger and hatred coming from it. Adrien realized it was his connection to the Ink Demon. It seemed stronger, though it didn't seem to bother him unless he was paying attention to it. His heart skipped a beat when he realized that the Ink Demon was headed toward where he somehow knew where Marinette and the others are.

With a growl, Adrien ran forward, moving with more clarity and determination. He maneuvered through the halls with ease, using the connection to the Ink Demon to guide him. He stumbled slightly and his eyes flashed yellow, giving him a glimpse of what the Ink Demon could see, which was Marinette and the others in a vent. But instead of the usual anger, Adrian was sensing curiosity and interest from the Ink Demon. Almost as if he was trying to figure something out…

Whatever was going on, Adrien didn't like it so he increased his speed. Turning another corner, Adrien finally came across the Ink Demon just as he was about to go through an ink portal. Adrien charged and tackled him, sending them both into the portal. They tumbled through the dark void, Adrien sensing the Ink Demon's confusion at what had happened. They soon tumbled out in another part of the studio, though Adrien knew it hadn't been the Ink Demon's original destination.

Adrien had let go of the Ink Demon when they exited the portal and both of them rose to their feet. They stared at each other for a moment, before Adrien lunged forward. They wrestled, pushing back and forth but neither getting the upper hand. Adrien felt confusion and anger pouring from the Ink Demon through their link. On impulse, Adrien probed deeper into the connection, trying to find a weakness he could use. But what he failed to realize was that the link could work both ways. When he probed deeper, the Ink Demon sensed it and pushed back, flooding Adrien with thoughts and feelings.

 _ **AngerDesperationRunRunRunWhileYouCanSelfLoathingSaddnessIWasn'tMeantToBeAMonsterHatredAngerHeMadeMeThisWayFearAngerDispairRunRunHoplessnessBeforeHeMakesMeKillYouDesperationPleaseRunRunRun**_

The thoughts and feelings overwhelmed him, keeping him from understanding what the Ink Demon was trying to say. Adrien ended up letting go and stumbling back. The Ink Demon used the opportunity to disappear through another ink portal. Adrien took a moment to recover, but when he did, he realized that he was alone in the room. Plagg must not have been able to get through the portal in time. Deciding that returning to the others was the best option, Adrien got up. Unfortunately, the room Adrien was in had it's only exit blocked by debris. Testing it out, Adrien knew he couldn't clear a path by hand. Looking down at his claws, Adrien wondered if he'd be able to use his cataclysm. It was a silly thought as it was obvious he wasn't fused with Plagg, but there weren't many other options.

Deciding it was worth a shot, Adrien held out his hand. Before he even started to speak, darkness and ink swirled into his hand, responding to his thoughts and desires. Adrien looked at it a moment in wonder before pressing his hand against the derby. Ink shadows, similar to that of the Ink Demon's, spread out from his hand and melted the debris into ink. Grinning at his discovery, Adrien ran forward.

It took him a while and using his powers to clear several more obstacles, but Adrien soon came to a large warehouse full of games and parts. He knew that Marinette and the others were nearby, so he leaped onto the beams near the ceiling, giving him both a better view and keeping out of sight of the others. While he felt pretty much like his old self, a part of him worried he'd hurt the others if he got too close. A moment later, Plagg came flying up to him.

"I knew if I stayed around Ladybug you'd show up eventually," Plagg smirked. "Glad to see I'm right like always."

"Whatever you say Plagg," Adrien grinned, glad to have his kwamii back by his side. Adrien looked around the warehouse for the others. He spotted Alya and Nino nearby, the former pacing in frustration, but he didn't see Henry or Marinette. He was about to ask Plagg where they were when he was struck by the feeling that Marinette and Henry were in danger. He could feel the powerful voice in the ink calling out in fear and warning. The strange part was, Adrien could feel the Ink Demon's concern and desire to protect Henry spearheading the call.

Pushing that aside, Adrien leaped down without a second thought, feeling compelled both by the voices and his own desire to protect his friends and family. He ran down a hallway, dissolved a hatch blocking his path, and leaped at the Projectionist as it turned to face him. They fought for a little bit before Adrien ended it using his power to melt the Projectionist. The second the fight was over, the voices pulled back in relief knowing that the Creator was safe for now. Adrien would swear that he could even feel relief from the Ink Demon. But he didn't have time to probe his link further to find out as Marinette leaped out and hugged him. Adrien still felt nervous about what had happened to him, but as long as he was with his Lady, everything would be alright.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44:**

Marinette held Noir for a moment longer before taking a step back to look him over. His cat ears were now horns, he had a bow tie with his bell in the middle of it. He had white gloves over clawed fingers and a spaded tail replaced his belt. His teeth were sharp, though his mouth was back to normal. His eyes were green with his sclera being yellow. But despite those outer changes, Marinette could still tell that it was the same Adrien within.

"Glad to have you back Adrien," Henry said, also pulling Noir into a quick embrace. "I knew you would pull through. Come on, let's get back to the others."

Marinette and Noir nodded, following him back out and passing the melted hatch. Alya and Nino were ecstatic to have Noir back with them and they demanded to know where he had been this whole time. Noir did his best to describe what had happened to him, but he wasn't clear on most of the details himself.

With the reunion complete, the group went over to the haunted house controls. Henry flipped the last switch and pulled the lever, restoring power to the haunted house. Carefully, the group went inside, coming to a track with a car on it and the words "Turn Back" on the wall behind it. The left tunnel was blocked by a closed door while the right tunnel was blocked by upturned cars. The group debated on what they should do next, but it the end it was decided that Henry, Alya, and Nino would ride in the car while Noir and Marinette would walk beside it. Once Henry and the others had taken their seats, the car began to move forward.

 _"And now, the ride truly begins,_ _ **Henry,**_ _"_ Alice's voice came through the speaker as the doors opened to allow them to pass through. _"Come in, and pretend it's all_ _ **just a bad dream.**_ _"_

The car continued moving forward, passing by old props and jump scares. It did little to phase the group, as it was nothing compared to what they had seen.

 _"It's a funny thing,"_ Alice continued wistfully as the car went around a corner. _"How much can fall apart so fast._ _ **We never really**_ _had control at the studio. Either you're in someone's pocket, or you were putting someone into yours._ _ **I just wanted what was promised to me.**_ _I just wanted to be beautiful!_ _ **Surely you could understand that!**_ _"_

Henry's grip tightened on the bar in front of him. He could never forgive Alice for what she had done, the pain she had caused to him and the others. Even if she had once been Susie, there was no excuse for what she had done.

 _"Henry… Why are you here?"_ Alice taunted as the group passed by a shadow of a Boris doll. _"_ _ **We're all dying to find out.**_ _Do you just enjoy the t_ _ **error of the drop into hell?**_ _Because if that's the case…_ _ **Hang on tight. I've got a surprise…**_ _"_

The group began passing through several doors and they braced themselves, expecting there to be a drop. But instead, they came into a large room. The was a huge chandelier hanging in the center, spooky portraits on the wall and piles of crates and barrels in the center along with other random junk. The group looked around in confusion, wondering what it is that Alice had been talking about. The car passed by the outer edges of the room before heading to another set of doors. Out of the darkness came a large pair of hands followed by the mutilated body of Boris.

"Boris! No, no…" Henry said in despair as he and the others looked on in shock at the monster Alice had turned Boris into. "What has she done to you?!"

Boris gave no response, instead of lifting up the cart and tossing it back. Noir had very little time to do more than grab Marinette and pull her out of the way before she would have been hit. As they flew through the air, Henry grabbed onto Alya and Nino, using his body to protect them. They smashed into a Bendy statue, completely destroying the cart. Henry's back slammed into the statue, the force of the impact snapping his spine. He slumped lifelessly to the ground, his hold on Nino and Alya failing.

Alya and Nino turned to Henry to ask if he was alright, only to see his body start sinking into the ink. Noir and Marinette arrived just in time to see Henry completely disappear, but there was no time to morn or even question what had happened as the Brute Boris roared.

 _"Ha ha ha!"_ Alice laughed at them in glee as Boris charged at the teens. _"_ _ **Meet the new and improved Boris!**_ _I took what_ _ **I wanted**_ _, and in return,_ _ **I gave him so much more!**_ _"_

Noir and Marinette pulled the stunned Alya and Nino out of the way, letting Brute Boris run past them and easily decimating the nearby organ.

 _"And this time not even your new little Ink Demon can help._ _ **There's no escape.**_ " Alice laughed. _**"Boris, tear them apart! Leave nothing!"**_

The teens dodged another charge as Brute Boris easily ran through barrels and crates. Noir handed Nino to Alya and charged at Brute Boris. Noir didn't want to hurt Boris, as he had been their friend. But if he didn't stop Boris, he and the others would end up being killed. With that in mind, Noir let darkness gather into his hand. He leaped forward, preparing to strike, but then Boris swung out with one of his giant fists. It hit him in the side and the force sent him flying into another barrel, his hand landing on it and dissolving it into ink. Noir growled as he rose to his feet. While using his power didn't cause him to change back, it did use energy. And with how much he had to use it lately, he doubted he had the strength to summon another attempt soon enough. Still, he couldn't give up. He charged at Boris again, determined to bring him down even if he had to do it with his bare claws.

Marinette watch Noir fight Boris in fear and frustration. She was Ladybug! She was meant to be fighting beside her partner! She won't let anything hold her back! With determination, Marinette ran forward, the ink from destroyed furniture surging toward her. Her outfit became similar to that of Alice Angel's and covered in red spots. The horns on her head grew and a halo appeared over her head. The now transformed Angelbug joined the battle.

 **AN: Now we get to the fight everyone's been waiting for. And if you want to see Demon Noir and Angelbug, you can check them out on my** deviantart **(Though the description does have very minor spoilers).**


	45. Chapter 45

**AN: Happy Day After Thanksgiving everyone!**

 **Chapter 45:**

Henry found himself in the dark void of the ink once more. As he had a better idea of what to expect, he was better able to keep himself together as well as blocking out the voices trying to suck him further in.

 _ **Creator…**_

The voice was back, stronger and clearer than before. Whether that was because this was his second time in the puddles or because he was deeper within the studio, Henry couldn't say. It could because of something entirely unrelated for all he knew…

 _ **Don't let yourself be distracted Creator!**_ The voice continued, once more enveloping Henry in a protective embrace. _**There are too many that need you for you to lose sight of your goal. You are the only one that can succeed where others have failed.**_

That's right! The kids were in danger. He had to get back and help them before they were killed!

 _ **We'll open the way for you, but be careful! We only have so much strength to do so much to help before you'll be on your own…**_

As the voice faded the tunnel of light once again opened for him. Henry wasted no time in heading for it. He soon burst through the ink, pulling himself out of a puddle in front of the Bendy statue. He gasped for breath and looked around to see what had happened while he had been within the Ink. He could see Adrien and Marinette fighting the monster Boris and it seemed as if Marinette had transformed. Looking around some more, Henry spotted Alya and Nino doing their best to hide and stay out of the way of the fight.

Henry stood up, knowing he had to stop Boris, even if he hated to do so. But he had no weapons, so how was he going to stop Boris? A lump of thick ink nearby caught his attention. Picking it up, Henry looked around and spotted one of the mini machines that could be used to mold ink. Henry immediately ran toward it, passing by a stunned Nino and Alya. He plopped the ink in the tray and turned the dial until it was on a pipe. He pulled the lever and picked the pipe as soon as it was created.

Holding the pipe at the ready, Henry made his way over to the fight. Marinette was flipping around Boris, coming in briefly to deliver a kick before jumping out of range of Boris' fists. Adrien was using a similar tactic, though attacking with his claws rather than his feet. Though they were fighting with a lot of skill, their blows seemed to do little more than anger Boris. Boris roared and charged, forcing Marinette and Adrien to scramble out of the way. Boris barreled past them and crashed into the wall beside Henry. Boris seemed stunned from the impact and Henry used the opportunity to attack. He swung with enough force the pipe snapped in half on impact.

Even though Henry hit with all his strength, he knew it should have little more effect than the teens. And yet it seemed that his strike caused Boris a lot of damage. He didn't have time to question it as Boris was quickly recovering. Henry scrambled to the other side of the room with Marinette and Adrien joining him.

"I'm glad you're alright Uncle Henry," Noir greeted, keeping one eye on Brute Boris. "But how are you here? We saw you get absorbed by the ink."

"Questions later!" Marinette cut in, grabbing Henry's hand. "Run!"

Brute Boris jumped into the air and came slamming down where they had just been standing, punching a large hole in the door that had been behind them.

"Marinette, get that glob of ink and use it to make another pipe," Henry ordered, pointing to a spot nearby. "Adrien and I will keep Boris distracted until you can get the pipe to me!"

The teens nodded and the group split as Brute Boris leaped at them again. Henry stumbled under the shockwave of Brute Boris' landing, but Noir was able to keep him steady. Angelbug was able to remain on her feet and easily scooped up the ink. She ran for the mini machine as Brute Boris leaped again, stumbling as she got there, but she was able to get the ink in. As soon as the pipe was ready, she ran back to the others and handed the pipe to Henry. Henry didn't even have time to thank her before they had to run from Brute Boris' next attack.

As the group looked back, they saw that Brute Boris was temporarily incapacitated, clutching at the gaping hole in his chest as ink poured from the wound. He looked like he was in so much pain, but Henry couldn't allow that to stop him. He and the teens ran forward, Angelbug and Noir covering Henry as he went for the blow. Brute Boris roared after he was hit and swung with his fists, knocking all three of them back.

Angelbug was the first to recover, spotting another glob of ink nearby. She scooped it up and ran for the mini machine.

"Watch out my Lady!" Noir shouted, grabbing her and pulling her back before she could reach the machine. A car flew through the air in front of her, shattering on impact and destroying the machine.

"Come on!" Noir ordered, pulling Angelbug out of her stupor and back to Henry. They ran some more as Brute Boris threw another car in their direction.

"What are we going to do?" Angelbug asked desperately, looking helplessly from the Ink in her hand to the remains of the machine. "We can't make another pipe and none of our other attacks seem to have any effect!"

"We'll think of something," Henry assured looking over to Noir. "Can you use your powers on Boris like you did the Projectionist?"

"Don't have the energy right now," Noir panted. Now that they had a close look at him, it was obvious he was exhausted. "I'm running on fumes as it is."

The three had to run again as another car was sent their way. While Noir and Henry continued discussing their options, Angelbug looked down thoughtfully at the ink in her hand. If Noir still had some version of his power, then it would only make sense that she did to. She knew ink could be molded by the mini machines, surely her powers will allow her to mold it as well. She cupped the ink and channeled her will and energy into it. The Ink began to glow and expand, forming a pipe in her hands.

"How?" Noir said in shock as he and Henry gapped at her.

"You aren't the only one with tricks up your sleeve," Angelbug grinned before her eyes widened. "Duck!"

The group barely dodged a car as it flew over their heads. Looking to Brute Boris, they saw that he was once again clutching his chest wound. Angelbug quickly handed the pipe as they ran forward. Henry stuck Boris, finally defeating him.

"No! No! No!" Alice shouted in anger as Boris collapsed. "Why can't you just die!"

The group ignored her as they gathered around Boris, Alya, and Nino joining them. They looked on with sadness as Boris' body turned black and dissolved into ink. An angry screech came from behind them and they turned to see Alice coming at them. Henry barely had time to put himself in front of the teens when a sword came through Alice's chest. Alice let out a choked gasp as the sword was pulled from her and she collapsed dead on the floor. The group stared at Alice's dead body and in shock before looking at the ones that killed her.

Standing before them was another Alice and Boris…


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46:**

Henry and the teens weren't sure how to react to these newcomers, were they friendly or were they a threat? The new Boris and Alice are clearly armed and able to kill, but they had just saved them from the evil Alice. And just by looking at them, it was clear that they were some of the more intelligent ink creatures trapped in the studio. Henry and the others had just finished a brutal fight and they were exhausted. He could see that both Marinette and Adrian were on the verge of collapse, though they were in a defensive stance and ready to fight if this new Alice and Boris proved to be hostile. Knowing that they could not hope to win another fight in their state, Henry approached the two new ink creatures carefully on the slim chance they were friendly.

"Hi… I'm-" Henry was cut off as Alice grabbed his extended hand and pulled him close. She flipped him around, holding him trapped with one arm across his chest and her sword against his throat. Henry could feel the blade so close that if he were to swallow, he would cut himself.

"Henry!" the teens called in worry, Noir and Angelbug both getting ready to attack his captures.

"Don't even think about it!" Alice threated, tightening her grip and drawing a thin line of blood with her sword while the Boris growled. Noir and Angelbug hesitated before standing down. They couldn't risk getting Henry hurt.

"Good choice, follow us," Alice replied, dragging Henry with her as she headed into the tunnel she came out of. The teens followed after them with the Boris keeping watch behind them, though it was obvious he was more concerned about the teens doing something than being attacked by something else. Alice lead them through many dark and twisting tunnels, so much so that they would never be able to figure a way out on their own, even if they were focused enough to try. Finally, after what felt like hours to the tired group, Alice opened a metal door to what was obviously their safe house.

The Boris shut and locked the door once the group had been herded inside, effectively trapping them. But they weren't done yet. They separated the teens into males and females and boarded them into cells in separate sections of the area. Henry himself was boarded up alone in a cell in the main room. They couldn't see each other from their cells, but if they shouted, they would clearly be able to hear each other. While the group wasn't in favor of their new situation, they weren't really in a state or position to change it. So, for now, all they could do was wait…

Days passed…

Henry was feeling restless in his small cell. While he was grateful for the chance to rest and recover, he was ready to push forward. He had to get the kids out of here. Unfortunately, their captors still weren't ready to let them go. Henry had been talking to Alice, who he now knew called herself Allison, and she seemed to be warming up to him and the others. Unfortunately, the Boris, Tom, made it very clear that he didn't trust them at all, especially Henry and, from what he could hear, Adrien. Henry had heard Allison and Tom arguing about what to do with them.

Henry spent most of his time drawing. He did make a few recordings to express his thoughts until Tom took his recorder away. He had also done his best to assure the teens from where they were being held. They couldn't talk often or for very long, but Henry did his best to keep them calm and instructed them to just wait a little longer. He was so tired of fighting and he really didn't want to hurt Allison and Tom, not when there was a chance they could talk things out.

One day, Henry was watching Allison write and draw on the walls.

"I can feel you watching me…" Allison spoke up, glancing back at Henry. "It's just… a little creepy…"

"You're the one that writes on the walls," Henry stated, thinking back on all the messages he had seen throughout the studio.

"We all do," Allison informed sadly. "For some poor souls down here, it's the only way they can be heard. But you don't want to touch the ink for too long! It can claim you… pull you back… though some you have already fallen victim to it like the rest of us. Like me and Tom…"

"So you were once human too?" Henry asked, probing carefully.

"We once worked here…" Allison replied, her hand pausing in its stroke as she got lost in her memories. "Things were so much happier back then… Before the Liar ruined it all…"

"Can you please tell me what happened here?" Henry asked hopefully. "I want to fix that all that Joey's done, but I need to understand what's going on."

"Let me show you something…" Allison said after a pause, putting down her paintbrush and picking up a device from a nearby shelf. It looked like a high tech magnifying glass. "A while back, I was mapping put one of the upper levels… when I noticed something reflecting off a piece of glass. I held up the glass, looked through, and on the wall behind me was a hidden message! Right there in plain sight! So I kept looking… and found more and more messages everywhere in the studio! But you can't see them with your eyes. Only through this! Take a look!"

Allison handed Henry the glass through the boards. He held it up and looked through. A glowing halo appeared around Allison and on the wall behind her were the words "Hello Creator"

"The messages helped me piece together what happened and filled in some of the missing pieces of my memory." Allison continued. "And I think they might know a way to get out of here."

"Where does it all lead to?" Henry asked, still looking through the glass.

"Nowhere," Allison replied sadly. "I followed them for a long time… but I was just lead in circles. I don't think I'm able to leave this place on my own, Henry. But maybe… with your help…"

"Allison…" Henry said, putting the glass down. "Please let us out of here. We can all work to get out of here together."

"Tom thinks you're dangerous," Allison stated, though she didn't seem very convinced.

"And what do you think?" Henry pressed.

"I… I think…" Allison began, her thoughts racing. "You're the hope I've been waiting for… Creator..?"

"Then let us out and I promise, I'll do everything in my power to get us all out of here… Together…" Henry said with conviction.

"Yes… We must work together…" Allison smiled. She turned and left to get a tool to remove the boards. Finally, things were turning around.


	47. Chapter 47

**AN: Who's ready to start really going off cannon? (I don't know why some of you are surprised... I've been adding my own and hinting to my own ending for a while..."**

 **Chapter 47:**

Noir was restless. If there was room in his cell he would have been pacing, but he had to settle with scratching marks in the stone walls with his claws in an attempt to expel some of his excess energy.

"Dude you need to chill," Nino said from where he was relaxing in a makeshift hammock that served as his bed. "I know you and Marinette are used to taking action, but Henry has really been making progress these past few days. Just wait and we'll be out of here soon."

"It's not that, at least not now," Noir replied, his spaded tail twitching in aggravation. "Something's got the Ink Demon on edge. I've been feeling it over our connection the past day or so and it's driving me nuts."

"Well, what could be possibly be bothering the Ink Demon so bad?" Nino asked, flipping over to get a better look at Noir. "I mean, everyone's terrified of him and it seems like he rules this place."

"I don't know and -ack-" Noir cut off shaking his hand suddenly.

"What is it?" Nino asked, sitting up in worry and curiosity.

"My arm just got all tingly," Noir replied, still waving his arms. "Similar to the feeling you get when it falls asleep, but I know I'm just feeling an echo of whatever the Ink Demon is going through. That's it! I'm going to figure out what's going on!"

With a huff, Noir sat down in the center of his cot and getting into a meditative position. Noir was still really nervous about the fact that he had a connection with the Ink Demon, but there had been something bothering him for a while. He didn't really remember what the Ink Demon had sent him through their connection the last time, but he had the lingering impression that there was more going on with the Ink Demon than any of them realized. This newest development was enough to finally push him to find out what was going on.

Taking a deep breath… Noir closed his eyes and did his best to block everything out and focus inward on the connection he had. It didn't take long for him to find the connection, it was almost second nature now, but when he tried to follow it to the Ink Demon's mind he found something blocking him. He probed it carefully, trying to discern what it was. It wasn't a barrier per say, but something that seemed to be covering the Ink Demon's consciousness. Still determined, Noir pushed harder and soon he started to break through…

Henry sighed as he heard Tom and Allison still arguing with each other. Tom had come in just as Allison had finished freeing Henry and he had been really angry about it. Allison was quick to defend her choice and Tom had backed down enough for them to free Marinette and Alya. But now as they went to free Adrien and Nino, they were arguing again. While Tom was willing to let Henry's release slide, he was adamant that Adrien should not be free.

It was obvious to anyone that Adrien had a lot of similarities with the Ink Demon and it made Allison and Tom very wary of him. Henry was just glad that Tom didn't know that Adrien had a literal connection to the Ink Demon or they would never be able to convince them to let Adrien out. Henry and the others began working on removing the boards, greeting Nino and Adrien as they did so, though Adrien didn't respond to them. Just as they removed the last board, Adrien let out a pained gasp and his eyes snapped opened showing bright glowing yellow eyes.

Noir as soon as he broke through was overwhelmed with pain. Something was hurting the Ink Demon, hurting him deeply. Adrien was only feeling a pale echo, but it was enough to bring him to tears. He couldn't even imagine just how much pain the Ink Demon was truly in.

"What's happening!" Henry demanded as he rushed to Noir's side, Angelbug going to the other side. Allison and Tom both stood defensively in the doorway, unsure of what to make of the situation.

"He was searching his connection with the Ink Demon," Nino explained as he scrambled out of the hammock. "He said something was bothering the Ink Demon, but we didn't expect this."

"He has a connection with the Ink Demon!" Allison gasped in shock and fear.

"I told you they weren't to be trusted!" Tom growled in his gruff voice, tightening his grip on his ax. "I say we get rid of him before he brings the Ink Demon here!"

"Don't you dare touch him!" Angelbug shouted, standing protectively in front of her partner.

"Come on Adrien snap out of it!" Henry said, trusting Marinette to keep Allison and Tom form doing anything drastic. "Block it out!"

"He's in so much pain…" Noir babbled. He wasn't really aware of the tense situation happening around him, too focused on the information coming from the link. The group quieted down as he continued to speak. "The Liar is angry… He's punishing the Ink Demon… the Ink Demon just wants it to end… _ **Please stop… I can't take it anymore… just let me die… let me die… let me die… I don't want to do this… JUST KILL ME ALREADY LIAR! TRAITOR! FALSE CREATOR! YOU'VE ALREADY TAKEN EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME… what more do you want… just let the pain stop… let me die…"**_

Noir babbled on a few more minutes as the link faded into the back of his mind once more. Even though the emotions and pain he felt was only a glimpse of what the Ink Demon was feeling, it was so deep and powerful that Noir was curled up in Henry's arms and sobbing. Henry rubbed Noir's back and murmured assurances as Noir calmed down. Everyone was disturbed and saddened by what they had heard. Even Tom looked shocked and pale. Allison had the biggest the reaction though, covering her mouth with her hands as tears streamed down her face.

"He's still in there…" Allison gasped as she slowly lowered her hands. "Even after all this time… after all, he's been through… he's still in there…"

"It could just be a trick…" Tom tried to say, though he didn't seem convinced himself.

"What do you mean?" Angelbug asked, having long dropped her defensive stance.

"I think it's time you tell us everything," Henry said sternly, letting go of Noir once he had calmed down enough.

"I think you're right," Allison nodded, wiping away her tears. "Come, let's go to the main room. It's a long story so you might as well be comfortable."


	48. Chapter 48

**AN: Exposition time! Get ready for the heartbreaking tale of what really happened in Joey Drew studios...**

 **Chapter 48:**

The group gathered around the desk in the main room, sitting on whatever they could use for chairs. Noir had a blanket wrapped around him, clutching it for comfort as he tried to shake off the remnants of the Ink Demon's emotions. The group was silent for a moment, wondering where to begin.

"So what do you know already?" Allison asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Not much…" Henry began, thinking over everything they had found and discovered. "Joey seems to have been obsessed with the idea of bringing the cartoon characters to life, so much so that he ended up using you and all the other people that worked here. Only for it all fail horribly, leaving this inky nightmare behind. I don't know what Joey hoped by inviting me back to this place, but I'm going to fix his mistakes like I always do."

"Well… you're only partially right," Allison sighed, leaning on the desk. "Now what I'm going to tell is a mix of our own scattered memories of what happened and what we've been able to put together over the years we've been trapped here. Joey did want to make real-life characters and he actually succeeded. Alice, Boris, and Bendy were all created perfectly and without any human sacrifice, at least as far as we know. A lot of employees were skeptical about the toons at first, but they quickly won us all over.

"For a few months, everything was fine. Cartoons and toys were still being made, plans for a Bendy Land were underway, and the toons did their best to make sure everyone was happy. Sure, there were still some concerns about finances, but it wasn't too big of an issue yet. But then there was an accident. One of the toons, Boris, and a maintenance work ended up falling down several flights of stairs. Boris was a little shaken, but otherwise completely fine. The maintenance worker, however, was severely injured and was never able to return to work. After that Joey began to change and the toons disappeared. When we asked about them, he just said that they were becoming unstable and he was working to keep them from falling apart. Since none of us really knew how the toons physiology worked, we just accepted it. We should have realized that something was wrong, especially once people started disappearing a few months later," Allison said regretfully.

"I should have known something was up," Tom growled, slamming his metal fist on the desk and making the others jump at the sudden noise. "I was the one hired to help create the Ink Machine and I thought it was strange when Joey started demanding more and more changes, forcing the studio into greater debt. I knew something wasn't right, but I never questioned it. Not even when he started talking about sacrificing people!"

"None of us did," Allison agreed, putting a comforting had on Tom's shoulder. "We bought whatever excuses and stories he fed us. That is until the day the ink creatures came swarming and started dragging people into the ink. We tried to escape. Only to find the exits blocked or sealed shut, trapping us all in here."

"Did you ever find out what happened to the toons?" Henry asked softly. "And why Joey would do all this?"

"He experimented on them," Allison informed with disgust. "We're not positive, but we think Joey became obsessed with the toons' ability to withstand and recover from things that would severely injure or even kill a regular human. He put them through all sorts of torture to test the extent of their limits before eventually melting down first Boris than Alice to use their ink as the source for all the living ink you see all around you and throughout the studio. Boris and Alice are still within the ink, but it's so spread out and infused into so many creatures that they are barely conscious of what's happening most days. Though I suppose it's better that way."

"If they're in the ink… can they talk through it?" Henry wondered, thinking back on the voice he had heard when he had been in the ink puddles. Could that have been them?

"Sometimes," Allison confirmed, glancing briefly at the ink filled buckets. "It's how we first started learning about what happened to them. But there are so many other voices and souls trapped in there, that it takes a lot of effort on their part to be heard. And of course, the longer you remain in contact with the ink, the more likely you are to get pulled back in yourself. That tool I gave you actually shows messages they have made and it's a much safer way for them to contact us."

Henry pulled out the seeing tool again and looked through it, the other's gathering around to look through as well. Once again Henry saw the glowing words "Hello Creator" on the wall, but this time it also said, "Please find a way to set us all free."

"So if Alice and Boris are in the ink…" Noir began carefully, looking down at his white-gloved claws. "Then is the Ink Demon..?"

"…Bendy," Allison confirmed sorrowfully when Noir couldn't finish. "We aren't sure exactly how, but after Joey had finished experimenting on him, he turned him into a monster to use as a weapon. When the ink creatures first started dragging everyone in, many of us were able to hide or even fight back. That's when the Ink Demon was sent in to get us. At the time we didn't understand it, but Bendy was fighting against Joey's control. His movements were incredibly staggered and clumsy allowing many to escape him though not all. But throughout the following weeks and months, the Ink Demon became more efficient at his task and there were fewer signs of Bendy fighting for control. After a few years all signs disappeared completely we figured that Joey had succeeded in just turning him into a mindless weapon. Alice and Boris told us that he wasn't completely gone once we got into contact with them, but we didn't have any reason to believe them. Until now…"

"He's hurt… and broken… " Noir said softly, speaking what he knew deep down to be true. "And the Liar is mad that he hasn't been able to locate Henry. Once he's done being punished… He will be sent after us once again."

"And it won't be long before he finds this place," Tom concluded, getting up and grabbing his ax.

"Then we better get going," Henry concluded, getting nods and determined gazes.


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49:**

It didn't take the group long to gather everything they needed before they headed out. Unfortunately, there were a limited amount of weapons and without any thick ink, Angelbug was unable to create more. Allison and Tom had their own weapons to use and there was only a spare pipe for the others. Noir was fine being weaponless, as his claws and powers were more than enough. Angelbug insisted that Henry be the one with a weapon, as she had plenty of experience fighting hand to hand, plus she should be able to make more weapons once they find the right kind of ink. With that decided, the group headed out.

They passed through the dark cave-like tunnels. Allison and Tom easily dispatched of the few searchers that popped up and they soon led the group to an inky river with a makeshift dock and two small barges on it. Henry had the urge to look for messages from Alice and Boris, so he pulled out his seeing tool. Looking around, he saw written on the floor "There's something in the river."

"We'll have to split up as we wouldn't fit in one barge, " Allison said as she pulled a lever to release the first barge into the water. "How do you want to go about it?"

"Alice and Boris are warning us that there's something dangerous in the river," Henry informed, putting his tool away. "So we should make sure we should have fighters on both boats. Alya, Nino, you go with Allison and Tom in one barge while the rest of us go in the other."

"Sounds reasonable," Allison agreed, releasing the other barge into the water. "Let's get going."

Allison and her group piled into the left barge while Henry and the others into the one on the right. Once both engines were running, Allison steered her barge forward to lead the way through the tunnel. The barges were agonizingly slow and it did little to ease the tension Henry and the others were feeling, but they passed through the tunnel with no incidents. Allison started steering her barge over to the right, where Henry and the others could see a small platform and a door. Henry started to follow when the engine sputtered and came to a stop.

"Sounds like something's stuck in the paddlewheel," Henry said, looking towards the back of the barge. Noir and Angelbug went to inspect it, finding several blobs of ink. Noir began destroying them with his claws while Angelbug pried one out for herself, planning to use it to make a weapon. Just as they finished clearing out the ink, a large splash drew their attention. A giant Bendy hand rose out of the ink and towered over them, cutting them off from Allison and the others.

"Head down the other tunnel!" Allison shouted instructions while Tom ushered Alya and Nino through the door. "We'll meet you up ahead! Go!"

Allison jumped off the barge and ran through the door just as the hand came down and pulled the barge down into the ink. Henry wasted no time starting up his barge again and heading down the left tunnel. They made it down about half way down the tunnel when their paddlewheel got clogged again, followed by the hand rising behind them. Noir quickly got to work slashing the ink globs while Angelbug molded her glob into a spear. The hand began to descend just as Henry was able to start up the barge again. Angelbug threw her spear at the hand, causing the hand to jerk to the side and barely miss their barge.

Angelbug and Noir kept a close eye for the hand as it disappeared into the ink. As Henry steered the barge through a turn when the ink clogged the paddlewheel again. Noir and Angelbug were able to quickly clear it, giving Angelbug another glob to work with, and getting the barge moving just before the hand rose. The hand splashed in the ink behind them, making a large splash that rocked the barge. They made their through a few more twists and the hand once more rose to attack them. Angelbug threw another spear, managing to pierce its palm. It thrashed and the barge was able to get out of range before it came down. They managed to exit the tunnels without running into the hand again after that.

They came into a large cavern with a lot of makeshift shelters built inside. The passed one such shelter which had a Lost One sitting on it fishing. They could feel the Lost One's eyes on them as they sailed past. They came to a dock and they all got off. They managed to make it through to solid ground, though a board did break behind them. Henry and the others looked around in sadness, especially when they say the messages "Not Monsters" and "What Am I?" written around. Henry pulled out the seeing tool, finding the glowing messages "Careful, there is danger here" and "Once people, now fallen into despair."

"So many people hurt…" Henry sighed, putting the tool away. "And for so long…"

"We'll fix this," Angelbug assured, putting a hand on Henry's shoulder. "Just like you promised."

"I hope so," Henry said, glancing at a "He will set us free." written nearby. He had a good idea that those messages were actually about him. He just hoped he could live up to people's expectations. Not really sure where to go, the group approached the building with the "Not Monsters" sign over it. As they got to it, something began smashing through, startling the group and making them all step back and take a defensive stance.

 _ **"BETRAYED! ABANDONED!"**_ an angry and distorted voice said. A figure stepped out of the shadows of the doorway, revealing themselves to be Sammy Lawrence and it was obvious he was even crazier than the last time they had met him. And this time, he was furious and out for blood.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50:**

 _ **"I trusted you! I gave you everything…"**_ Sammy shouted, raising his ax. _**"And you left me to rot! …Why? WHY?!"**_

Sammy charged forward, ax held high. Noir fully braced himself for an attack, positive that Sammy had mistaken him for the Ink Demon. But to everyone's surprise, Sammy charged at Henry instead of Noir.

" _ **I'll cut that smile right off your face**_!" Sammy screamed as he brought his ax down. Henry dove to the side and barely managed to avoid the deadly blade. As Henry rose to his feet, Noir and Angelbug snapped into action. They charged forward and delivered several kicks and punches, but they barely fazed Sammy. The had to retreat slightly as Sammy flailed his ax violently almost grazing his opponents.

 _ **"He lied! He always lies!"**_ Sammy raged, focused only on Henry. Henry managed a solid hit with his pipe, but it had no more effect than the other's attacks. Sammy swung his ax wildly and Henry wasn't able to get out of the way on time, getting cut on his arm. Henry clutched his arm and did his best to outmaneuver Sammy who continued to chase him, losing his pipe in the process. Angelbug and Noir did their best to make use of Sammy's distraction to attack him, but it still seemed useless. Then Noir was able to get a lucky shot on Sammy's mask, causing it to fall off.

 _ **"No! Don't look at me!"**_ Sammy screamed, knocking Angelbug and Noir back before he covered his face and running to the center of the area. _**"Stay away…"**_

Henry cautiously approached the hunched over ink creature as Angelbug and Noir rose to their feet. While there was no denying that Sammy was dangerous, Henry couldn't help but be sorry for him. He was just a victim of Joey, trapped in this nightmare for nearly 30 years. There had to be some way to reach the real Sammy.

"Sam-" Henry was cut off as Sammy grabbed him when he got close.

 _ **"AH! You lied to me!"**_ Sammy seethed, lifting Henry into the air. _**"You said that I'd be freed!"**_

 _ **"Well, I'm going to free you now!**_ " Sammy declared as he threw Henry onto the ground and held his ax over his head. _**"Free you're head right off your shoulders!"**_

"Henry!" Noir and Angelbug shouted in worry. They were about to rush forward when they saw Tom sneaking up on Sammy.

 _ **"Sheep, sheep, sheep…"**_ Sammy taunted over his trapped victim. _**"It's time for… sleep…"**_

Right before Sammy could bring the ax down and finish off Henry, Tom struck, burying his ax deep into Sammy's head. Sammy swayed back and forth before collapsing to the side. Tom loomed over Henry with his ax, before turning it around and offering it to Henry.

"Here, you need something stronger than a pipe," Tom smirked as he helped Henry up.

"Thank you," Henry said as he took the ax, Tom claiming Sammy's ax for himself. Henry stared at Sammy's body, wondering why Sammy had been so focused on him. Noir was the only one with a connection to the Ink Demon, wasn't he? Was Sammy just so lost in his own mind that he couldn't tell what was really around him anymore. Or… or was it because he was considered the true Creator? He hadn't been thinking about it too closely, but Henry did seem to have a deep and unique connection to the studio and all its inky inhabitants.

"That was close!" Allison said, snapping Henry out of his thoughts as she and the others gathered around. "You're lucky we were able to get here in time."

A sudden rumbling went through the whole cavern, making the group looking around in worry.

"Was that "him"?" Henry asked. He wasn't sure what he would do if they came across the Ink Demon now that he knew it was truly Bendy. He wanted to help the poor toon somehow, but it was too dangerous. As long as Joey had him under control, there was nothing they could do.

"I don't think so…" Allison replied with a slight shake of her head. "The Searchers and the Lost Ones built this place… Sammy must have been keeping them at bay. Now that he's gone-"

Allison cut off as another rumble came through.

"Looks like we're in for a fight. Get Ready!" Allison declared as she and Tom got into defensive stances. "Watch out! Here they come!"

Ink puddles appeared and bubbled as numerous Searchers emerged and were joined by Lost Ones coming out of their shelters. There was only a moments breath before the inky crowd attacked. Angelbug and Noir grabbed onto Alya and Nino, holding onto them as they jumped up to a nearby building.

"Stay safe," Alya said as she and Nino took cover, getting a nod form Angelbug. Angelbug and Noir jumped back down, joining the other in the fray.

"Get back to your puddles!" Allison shouted, easily cutting through several searchers while Tom fought a Lost One nearby. "I've never seen this many before!"

"Why are you attacking us?" Henry couldn't help but ask in confusion as he dodged a swipe from a Lost One. They had always been so passive before, why would they attack now? Henry's question seemed to have triggered something as voices and shouts began bombarding his mind.

 _ **"He's making us!"**_

 _"Trapped! Enslaved!"_

 _ **"Betrayed! Trust no one!"**_

 _"Sorry Creator!"_

 _ **"We can't stop!"**_

 _"Liar! Liar! Danger! Danger!"_

 _ **"Must fight! Must attack!"**_

 _"I just want to go home!"_

 _ **"Set us free!"**_

Henry fell to his knees, gripping his head as more and more voices filled his mind. Noir and Angelbug were immediately by his side, fighting the ink creatures as they attempted to get the vulnerable man. Tears streamed down Henry's face, a combination of pain and the realization that Joey must be forcing these creatures to fight them. They were just scared and tormented souls, forced to do what they must to survive. Joey was going to pay for what he's done!

"Henry! Look out!" Angelbug said as she pulled him out of the way of a Searcher's claws. Henry broke out of his trance and the voices faded into the back of his mind. While the ink creatures weren't doing it of their own free will, it didn't change the fact that they were attacking. Henry tightened his grip on his ax before once again joining the fight. He had to protect the others and survive this if he hoped to make things right, no matter how much it sickened him.

The five of them continued to fight the swarm of ink creatures before, finally, the last one was returned to the puddles. While they may have won the fight, it didn't feel like a victory for Henry. Still… all he could do was press on…


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51:**

"I think that's all of them… "Allison decided after a few moments of silence, dropping her defensives stance and the others following her example. "But you never know where they're going to crawl out of next. Probably be best if we move on as soon as possible. Stick together."

As Allison used her sword to remove a chain keeping a nearby gate closed, Angelbug and Noir brought Alya and Nino down from the safety of the roof. The group went through the gate, Henry using his ax to chop the boards blocking their path. They came to a hallway that had long lost most of its flooring. Only a makeshift path of planks was the way to cross over the dark abyss.

"Be careful everyone," Henry said as he cautiously stepped onto the first plank. He managed to cross the first one with no issue. But as soon as he put his full weight on the second one, it snapped under him, sending him plummeting down into the abyss.

"Henry!" the others shouted in fear and worry. Angelbug and Noir immediately leaped down after him, falling down through the darkness. They soon splashed down in an ink-filled hallway. They were surprisingly unharmed despite the long fall into a fairly shallow pool.

"Are you two alright?" Henry asked, helping the teens out of the ink.

"Shouldn't we be the ones asking you that?" Noir only sort of joked. Both he and Angelbug had been infected by the ink, giving them forms nearly as strong end resistant as their superhero forms, but Henry didn't have that kind of protection. How was he doing so well after all they've been through. Maybe the ink was having an effect on him as well…

"Not when I'm the one in charge," Henry joked back, missing Noir's concerned expression. "Doesn't look like we'll be getting out the same way we came. Let's see if we can find another way out."

Henry pulled out his seeing tool and looked around. On the wall beside him was the message "The Liar is through the Vault." Henry paused to consider that. If they were close to Joey… wouldn't the best thing to do would be to go and confront him? Storing that idea for later, Henry leads the teens through a nearby door. They came into a foyer area to what seemed to be the main offices. Unfortunately, the offices were currently locked, but Henry did spot a door that said "Film Vault" off to the side. Henry lead them through the door but when they went to try and enter the film vault, the found that the path was flooded with ink.

"Alice and Boris say that Joey is through the vault," Henry informed the teens. "We need to drain the ink so we can finally put an end to this madness."

"Shouldn't we get back to the other's first?" Angelbug suggested. "I don't want to leave them alone for too long."

"You two should go back and keep them safe," Henry agreed, glancing at her. "But I'm tired of all this wandering around, waiting for the next attack. It needs to stop."

"Then I'm coming with you," Noir declared, clenching his claws. "Joey needs to be stopped and I won't let you face him alone."

"If this is what you think is best then I'm staying too," Angelbug agreed. "Allison and Tom can keep Alya and Nino safe for now. It's probably bested that they aren't there for the final fight anyway."

"We won't be fighting anything until we drain the ink," Henry said. Though he was appreciative of their support, he didn't like it that they were once again going into danger because of him. "Let's keep looking around."

They found a mess of pipes in front of the door to the film vault and it was easy to see that there a few pipes were missing. They also found a recorder on a chair in a side office.

 _"Progress Report to Gent Home Office. Client: Joey Drew Studios."_ came Thomas Conner's voice. It was strange to listen to his recording now that they've met Tom and knew what happened to him. _"We've made a lot of progress and the machine successfully created three creatures based on the models of the main cast of the show. But lately, the client's expectations keep changing demanding more and more of the machine. I'm not sure what Mr. Drew hopes to accomplish, but whatever his plans are… they aren't natural…"_

"I guess this is when Joey started his experiments…" Henry concluded as the tape clicked off. "But not helpful for what we need to do right now. Let's keep looking."

They went back into the main foyer and to the other side. There they found a mini machine that could be used to make the pipes they needed if they could find ink for it. They also found a switch in the office next to it, which opened the door to the administration offices. As they headed down the hallway to the offices, they noticed a twisted member of the Butcher Gang, Charley or more commonly called Piper down here, walking past. They froze where they stood, but it didn't seem to notice them and continued walking. Carefully, the three approached the of the corner and looked around.

"Not these guys again…" Henry sighed, watching as Piper went around the next corner. "We better stay out of sight."

"We could take him easily," Noir said, flexing his claws.

"Though there could be more around here," Marinette thoughtfully added. "We should at least see how many there are before we engage them."

"I'd rather we avoided fighting at all if we can," Henry pressed, thinking about all the voices calling out to him for help. "Besides we should save our energy for whatever Joey has in store for us."

Sensing there was something bothering Henry, Angelbug and Noir agreed to Henry's plan and dropped the subject. They began moving as quietly as possible down the hallway, hoping they could find the ink they needed somewhere inside.


	52. Chapter 52

**AN: For those that haven't realized, I'm purposely changing some of the Chapter 5 audio logs to fit the plot of my story.**

 **Chapter 52:**

The three made their way quietly through the halls, opening all the doors they could on to see if they could find anything useful. When they heard a member of the Butcher Gang, they quickly hid in one of the offices until they would pass. In one of the offices, the found a tape recorder. After making sure there were no Butcher Gang nearby, they played it.

 _"A small memo to all administration offices!"_ came Joey's voice. _"Rumors have begun to fly that we simply can't tolerate any longer. The idea that the company is in some form of financial difficulty is untrue and a slanderous lie against us. It's also been known to me that some backroom incompetents are not trusting in my leadership. As a leader, I'm always steering the boat, guiding our destiny. Looking at the big picture. No need for you people to worry about such complicated things. Just do whatever it is you do and trust your leader… which is me."_

"It sounds like people started catching on to Joey's lies," Angelbug observed as the tape recorder clicked off.

"Though not soon enough," Henry sighed, turning away. "Come on, let's keep going."

They continued going from office to office, hiding whenever necessary. They soon came across another recorder.

 _"Listen, Tommy, I know you boys over at Gent are doing your best,"_ came Joey's voice once again. _"But I'm paying for more than just living cartoons now. I'm making something that will change the world for the better. Whatever we made before isn't enough so you might as well stop bringing it up! I don't care how long it takes! My work will not stop until we can get this right! I don't care how many souls we have to go through! After all, I own thousands of 'em!"_

The trio just stared in horror as the recording clicked off. They had known for a long time now that the ink creatures were people, but to hear Joey so casually talk about sacrificing them…

"Let's go…" Henry said in a soft voice, unable to bear finding more proof of the monster his former friend had become. They kept going through the twisting hallways and soon came to the front of Joey's office. It was very obvious as there was a giant sign with his name over the door. To the left of Joey's office was a fountain that had the ink they needed. They each grabbed a gob of ink, as they needed to make three pipe.

"Should we go in?" Noir asked, looking at Joey's office. He had to force himself not to growl at it.

"We probably should," Henry said reluctantly, going to the door. "There might be something important…"

The three went inside, though there seemed to be very little actually inside the office. They did find another tape recorder, which they grudgingly turned on.

 _"I know how much this part means to you Susie,"_ Joey said in a falsely sweet voice, immediately putting them on edge. _"Alice means a lot to me too. All my characters do! That's why I attempted to bring them to life! But more than that, they're apart of us and we're apart of them. I want to make sure they are around forever to keep bringing joy to everyone! And I want to make sure that we're all there to see the greatness we've created. Susie, I'll be straight with you. I'm putting together a small project… a little ceremony… If it works, a lot of dreams will come true. And I want you to be a part of it. I want you to bring Alice to life once again. What do you say?"_

"I guess that's how Susie became that corrupted Alice," Henry said dully. He should be angry still, but he was just tired… weighed down by all the terrible things Joey had done. He had to fix this… "Let's go drain that ink…"

The three were able to get back to the main foyer with little problems, though they did have a close call with a Butcher Gang member. They started to turn the ink into pipes, but as soon as the first pipe was created Bendy's shadows appeared. They looked around for him, ready to run to the miracle station, but they never saw him and soon enough his shadows disappeared as well.

"Did you sense anything from him?" Henry asked Noir.

"Not really…" Noir said, closing his eyes briefly as he concentrated on his link. "Ever since the last time, it's been harder for me to read the link. There's something blocking it…"

"Must be whatever Joey's using to control him…" Angelbug replied thoughtfully. "You did mention that he had been punished when he couldn't find Henry… he might have reinforced his control…"

"We'll find a way to save Bendy and everyone else," Henry said firmly. "But first, we need to get to Joey."

The others nodded in determination, making the last of the pipes they needed. Having all the pipes, they were able to repair the system and drain the ink blocking the way to the film vault. They walked through the now clear hallway and into the vault. Henry pulled out his tool to see what Boris and Alice wanted them to do now. On the wall in the back of the vault, he found the message "The Liar is through there… Please be careful Creator… He is waiting…" and underneath the message was an arrow pointing to a metal door to the side.

"He's through there…" Henry said, pointing to the door. "Down that way is where Joey is waiting… It's probably going to be dangerous, but I know I can't stop you from coming with me."

"Got that right Uncle Henry. It's time to end this…" Noir said with a grin, punching his hand into his palm. "No more running around…"

"It's time to put a stop to all this," Angelbug agreed. "We'll find the source of the magic… We'll finally be able to save everyone..."


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53:**

"So if the pep talk's done, Let's head in already." Alya's voice coming behind them startled the trio and they whipped around to see that the others had managed to get to them. "I mean we're not accomplish anything just standing here."

"How did you get down here?" Henry asked in surprise as he gapped at them.

"It pays to carry a rope…" Allison replied with a smirk, patting the coil strapped to her side. "You should try it."

"Look I know we have to go face Joey…" Henry began, looking at the entire group. "But it's not going to be pleasant. I doubt he's just going to let us try and fix everything after he's gone through all the trouble of making this place the way it is. Things are bound to get dangerous, especially since he has Bendy under his control. So if any of you don't want to…"

"Look let's just get going already…" Alya interrupted, giving Henry a playful nudge. "You already know our answers. If it makes you feel better, I promise that Nino and I will find a safe place if things go south."

"You're right, I did know," Henry chuckled.

"So it's just through this door right…" Allison looking at the metal door. "It won't be easy to open. I'll need three gears, a crowbar and some kind of counterbalance…"

Noir rolled his eyes and prepared to summon his destructive power, but Tom beat him to the punch… literally… Tom was easily able to bust the door wide open with his metal arm.

"Huh…" Allison said, blinking as she took in this turn of events. "Well, that works too… I guess."

The rest of the group chuckled at that as Henry lead them through the now open door. They passed down a couple of hallways before coming to one that had a large glass window in it with another hallway visible on the other side. Bendy's shadows appeared on the other side of the glass and they all froze.

"Quiet," Allison whispered unnecessarily to the group. "Don't make any noise…"

A moment later, Bendy came walking past. He didn't seem to be looking for them, which was a relief, instead only heading farther down his side of the hallway. Noir frowned and focused on his link as he felt there was something off about Bendy. It took him a moment to realize he wasn't he wasn't feeling the burning anger and hatred anymore. Instead… there was only a feeling of hopelessness and resignation. Noir's eyes widened in worry as he watched Bendy turn a corner. Were they too late to help the enslaved toon?

The others didn't notice Noir's concern and they all breathed a sigh of relief as Bendy and his shadows disappeared. The threat supposedly past, Henry continued leading the group down the hall. When they turned the corner, they saw the word "Death" scrawled on the wall with an arrow pointing towards where they were going. They ignored the warning and continued on their way. They came into an enormous cavern with a lake of ink and giant Ink Machine inside. They could see the original Ink Machine lowering to rest on top of the metal monstrosity.

"Wow!" Allison said, stepping closer to the edge of the ink. "I've never seen this before! I don't see any way around… nothing to build a raft with."

"We'll have to wade across," Henry concluded, also coming to the edge of the ink.

"It's not something we like to do…" Allison replied with a grimace. "As there's always the chance we'll be pulled back into the ink… But we don't have another choice…"

"I can go on my own if it's…" Henry began.

"NO!" the teens cut him off, both fond and exasperated of Henry's willingness to sacrifice himself for them.

"Right, stupid suggestion…" Henry smiled, holding up his hands in surrender before turning serious. "I guess it's finally time to see what Joey wants. Stay close everyone and be careful."

The group carefully made their way into the ink towards the entrance to the machine. Those that had been infected by the ink felt it tugging at them as if it was trying to pull them under. Thankfully the pull wasn't too strong and they were all able to make it through. The walked down a thin hallway before it widened and they could see small windows on the sides. The windows should small chambers with Lost Ones inside being covered with ink. One of them though, looked like it was being molded into a Boris. They realized that this must be how Joey turned people into ink creatures.

Opening the large door at the end of the hallway, the entered a large open chamber. Up against the back wall, so high it was almost to the ceiling, was what appeared to be a large bubbling vat of ink. On the walls around them, clips from old Bendy cartoons and footage of the inside of the studio were being projected. The source of those projections came from the center of the room at the base of a large throne. And sitting in the throne was none other than Joey Drew.

Henry gapped at the sight of his former friend. The man had barely aged, only a few gray strands in his otherwise black hair. He was wearing a suit and tie like he had always worn and it seemed to be in pristine condition without any sign of wear or even a speck of ink. His hands and feet were completely black, most likely made of ink, with ink veins visibly crawling up his forearms. He had a triumphant smirk as he observed the group with glowing yellow eyes. His grin widened as the door slammed closed behind the group and he rose from his seat.

"Welcome back dear friend!" Joey greeted proudly, his arms spreading out in a welcoming gesture. "I've been waiting so long to show you everything I've accomplished!"


	54. Chapter 54

**AN: Merry Christmas everyone!**

 **Chapter 54:**

"Accomplished…" Henry said in shock as his anger at everything began to rise. He took a step forward towards the throne, though he didn't leave the group. They didn't know what Joey was capable of and they didn't see Bendy yet. The others stayed in subtle ready stances in case Joey decided to throw monsters at them.

"How can turning people into ink creatures accomplish anything!" Henry shouted, pointing accusingly at Joey and taking another step forward. "All these lives ruined and for what!?"

"Why to make a new perfect world"! Joey replied cheerfully, not at all concerned by Henry's anger. "A world where the wonders of imagination come to life! A world where suffering never lasts! Where death has no power! I know Bendy has demonstrated this fact for you!"

"But at what cost!" Henry pressed, flinching slightly at the mention of his deaths but still determined to make Joey see that what he was doing was wrong. "So many people are trapped here and in pain! Suffering doesn't end here… It just cycles on forever! You have to put a stop to this and reverse everything you've done!"

"But I've finally perfected the process, just look at two of your charges," Joey insisted, gesturing to Angelbug and Noir, who just glared at him, as well as the footage around him showing them using their powers. "They had powers coming in, but they were limited. But now they are stronger than ever and there is no limit to what they can do! And with your help Henry… We can bring this miracle to all the world. We can fix the previous drafts and make everything perfect."

"You are truly mad if you think I would _ever_ help you," Henry scoffed, crossing his arms in defiance. "I will never be a part of this!"

"I see…" Joey said coldly, his smile was still on his face but his eyes showed anger. "You still need some more convincing… But I'm sure you'll change your mind once you've truly become one with the ink."

The group immediately stiffened at hearing the threat. It was only a split second later that Noir sensed something coming.

"Henry! Look out!" Noir said, trying to get to Henry away from the foot of the throne. But it was too late. One of Bendy's ink portals opened under Henry's feet and Bendy's hand grabbed Henry's leg and pulled him through.

"Henry!" Everyone shouted in fear as he disappeared. Joey just laughed at the spectacle.

"Henry and I still have a lot to talk about…" Joey continued, drawing the attention of the group. "So why don't you have a little fun with Bendy while Henry and I finish up…"

Bendy came out of an ink portal in the floor, though there was no sign of Henry. The group backed up as he faced them, but he didn't attack immediately. Noir could even feel slight hesitation coming from Bendy…

"Bendy… Take care of them…" Joey commanded and the group could see a pentagram circle begin to glow on the back of his hand. Bendy immediately hunched down and cradled his head and the group could see an identical circle appear on the back of his hand. Bendy began to transform, his hands and arms getting larger and stronger. His head got bigger and his teeth sharpened. At the same time that Bendy was transforming, the overflow of magic poured over the link and made Noir's body change as well. His limbs got longer and thinner and his mouth widened, basically into what he looked like when he was first transformed by the ink.

"Noir…" Angelbug asked in worry, she and the others had backed up while these transformations were taking place. "Are you alright?"

Noir gave no response, only focused on Beast Bendy as it roared at them. Beast Bendy then charged at them while Noir charged at Bendy.

"Tom! Hide and protect Alya and Nino!" Angelbug ordered as they dived out of the wave. Tom nodded and quickly lead the two teens down a side hallway. Allison and Angelbug led Beast Bendy down the other way.

"How are we supposed to fight something like that!" Allison shouted in disappear as she and Angelbug ran for their lives.

"I don't know yet!" Angelbug replied. "Just keep running!"

Noir clung onto Beast Bendy's back as he chased after the others. He wanted to help Angelbug and the others, but he needed to help Bendy first. When Bendy was forced to transform, he could feel the real Bendy being crushed. He had to act quickly, or there would soon be nothing left of the original toon. Digging his claws in, Noir climbed higher on Beast Bendy's back until he got to his head. The link was stronger with their contact and Noir used that to push deeper, past all the rage and bloodlust the magic had thrust upon Bendy.

 _"Bendy!"_ Noir shouted through the link. _"Can you hear me! You have to fight this!"_

At first, there was nothing and Noir feared he was too late, but then he heard a response.

 _ **"What's the point?"**_ Bendy's voice replied. It was so soft and quiet that Noir had to focus all his energy just to hear him. _**"I've been trying to fight all these years… but it's never done anything… And now the Liar has the Creator… No one can stop the Liar… He always gets what he wants…"**_

 _"Don't give up! Please!"_ Noir did his best to encourage. _"Henry promised that he would find a way to save you! I believe he can do it so you just need to as well! Just a little longer and we will be able to put a stop to Joey's madness!"_

 _ **"The Creator…"**_ Bendy began. Neither had noticed, but Beast Bendy's rampage had started to slow as they talked. But then the circle once again flared up on Bendy's hand. Beast Bendy roared in pain and anger, thrashing to throw Noir off. Noir was sent flying into a wall, but he wasn't hurt. He was more concerned that something had come in and snapped his connection with Bendy. The link no longer existed and instead of feeling relief, Noir only felt worried.

"Look out!" Angelbug shouted, making Noir realize that Beast Bendy was slashing at him. Noir quickly sprinted out of the way and to the others.

"Thanks for the warning my Lady," Noir said with a grin. It was more disturbing than reassuring, but Angelbug was happy to see that Noir was still the same despite his altered appearance.

"What were you doing?" Angelbug asked as they once again began to run.

"Trying to talk to Bendy," Noir informed. "He's fading fast! If we don't find a way to fix this soon, Bendy will be gone forever!"

"Then we just have to find the source now!" Angelbug replied, her thoughts racing. "It's probably in the throne room! Let's go!"

"But what about him!" Allison questioned, gesturing to Beast Bendy who was still hot on their heels. "He's not going to stop chasing us to just let us look around!"

"We'll just have to do our best to keep him distracted while we search for it!" Angelbug concluded. "Come on!"

With more determination and urgency than ever, they headed back to the throne room.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55:**

Henry found himself in darkness, though it wasn't the ink puddles. It was more like he was an empty void though he could feel something holding onto him. He couldn't hear anything specific from his captor, but he felt something like a hopeless apology… It only lasted a minute before Henry was shoved back into the light. Henry stumbled onto a platform. He whipped around to see an ink portal closing behind him.

Realizing that Bendy brought him here, Henry looked around. He was on a thin catwalk over the boiling vat of ink. The steam was making him sweat and made it difficult to see what else was going on. But hearing a deafening roar turned Henry in the direction of the throne room below him in time to see Bendy, now a giant beast, chase after the others.

"I have to help them…" Henry muttered as he looked around for a way to get down.

"Don't bother looking for a way down…" Joey's voice came from behind him, causing Henry to whip around to face him. "The only way you get out of this is through the ink below you…"

"Joey…" Henry replied, struggling to sound calm and reasonable. "If you value the friendship we once had at all… I beg you to let the kids go. It's obvious you won't let me go, but the kids have nothing to do with this!"

"It's because you're my friend that I want you and those you have under your wing to stay…" Joey assured, his voice and body language acting like he's talking to a stubborn child. "What I have in store is for the best of everyone! And I know you'll agree once you've gone through the transformation process. So why don't you just make everything easier by going to the ink…"

"Never!" Henry replied angerly.

"Oh, you'll go into the ink…" Joey said predatorily, his teeth becoming sharp and his eyes glowing brighter. "One way or another…"

Joey began to stalk forward, making Henry instinctively stepped backward. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going and almost fell backward through a gap in the railing. Luckily, Henry was able to grab onto the railing and kept himself from plunging down into the ink. Henry tried to think of a way out of this when he and Joey got distracted by a commotion below them. It seemed that Beast Bendy along with Allison, Angelbug, and Noir had returned to the throne room. The three were taking turns fighting Bendy and searching the room frantically. Henry didn't see any sign of Alya, Tom, or Nino and he desperately hoped they were alright.

"You can put a stop to this you know…" Joey said, Henry, snapping his attention to him. "Just go through the process and you'll be able to shape this world. We'll be partners once more, making our dreams come true…"

Henry was about to tell Joey off again when he was overcome by another twisted vision. He could feel something calling his attention and he looked down into the vat of ink to see something shining from deep within.

 _ **You're the true Creator…**_

The vision only lasted for a split second, but Henry now knew what he had to do. Rising to his feet, Henry gave Joey a smirk.

"Alright, Joey…" Henry said, standing in front of the gap. "You want me to go into the ink so bad…"

Henry spun around and dove head first into the ink below him. The moment he hit the surface, every ink creature in the entire studio froze. Most of them barely had the ability to understand what was going on, but they all felt that something monumental was happening. Joey himself looked on in surprise before bursting out into laughter.

"I knew you would see it my way!" Joey laughed, not noticing how Beast Bendy had let out a small whine of worry, reaching in Henry's direction before he was forced to once again start fighting.

Henry felt no pain as he entered the ink, much to his surprise. But he didn't dwell on it, instead focusing on going deeper into the ink. The voices of the souls trapped within the ink immediately began calling out to him in fear and hope, begging him to save them.

 _I will…_ Henry tried to say, doing his best to stay together as all the voices pulled on him. _Just let me through…_

 _ **We will help you Creator…**_ came the voice, which Henry now knew was Alice and Boris. They were able to push the other voices back and clear the path for Henry. As Henry swam further into the ink, he could see shadowy echoes of Alice and Boris floating beside him. He took comfort and strength from their presence, especially as the ink around them seemed to get darker and more oppressive.

 _ **We can't go farther…**_ the shadows told him as they came to a stop. _**But you are almost there... Keep going… It's time to set us free…**_

 _I will…_ Henry assured, moving deeper without hesitation. Without Alice and Boris by his side, Henry could feel the dark magic of the ink trying it's best to stop him and to tear him apart. But he pushed through, his love and desire to save those trapped here compelling him forward and letting him overpower the ink. But even with all that… he could feel himself being worn away and there was still no sign of what he was looking for…

Just as he was worried he was lost in the ink forever, a small sparkle of light in front of him caught his eye. With renewed energy… Henry pressed forward. As he got close… he could see a shadowy figure curled around the spark. It was Bendy… cartoon Bendy though Henry could see that this echo was barely holding itself together. Trapped down here under all this oppressive darkness and forced to go against his nature, Henry was amazed that Bendy had survived…

Carefully, Henry placed his hand on Bendy's head between his horns. Bendy flinched and curled tighter around the spark, shielding it with his body from the pain he was expecting. Henry's heart hurt at the reaction and he gently rubbed Bendy's head, hoping to assure the poor toon that he didn't mean any harm.

Henry didn't know how long they stayed floating like that… But Bendy eventually began to relax and slowly lifted his head.

 _ **Creator…**_ Henry heard Bendy say once they made eye contact. _**You actually came…**_

 _I promised you I would find a way to save you…_ Henry replied with a smile. Bendy returned it with a shaky smile of his own.

 _ **Here…**_ Bendy said, slowly pulling out the spark he had protecting and held it out to Henry. Henry could see now that it was a cartoon heart. _**The Liar abused us and nearly completely destroyed us… I'm trusting you to set things right… Please, Creator… Please save us from this fate…**_

 _I will… I promise…_ Henry replied quietly cradling the heart in his hands. It was warm but so vulnerable and fragile. Holding it close to his own heart, Henry began swimming back to the surface. He hurried to the top. He could feel the dark corrupted magic pulling at him desperately, trying to get at his precious cargo and finally claim the toons completely. Henry didn't even let it slow him down the strength from all those that had put their trust in him propelled him forward and through.

Finally… he burst through the surface…


	56. Chapter 56

**AN: Happy New Year everyone!**

 **Chapter 56:**

Angelbug was beginning to lose hope that they would ever find the source of the magic. They had been looking for several minutes and each item they found was quickly rejected. Their kwamii's weren't much help either. They could sense that the source was extremely close, but they could not pinpoint its exact location. Not to mention it was getting harder and harder to stay out of Beast Bendy's claws. Outside of a random moment when they had all frozen when they felt something they couldn't describe, Beast Bendy had been fighting them viciously and violently. And just trying to stay ahead of him was exhausting.

Angelbug flipped out of the way of another strike, Beast Bendy's claws slamming into the floor and putting deep gashes into it. The force of the impact shook the entire room and caused Angelbug to fumble her landing, sending her sprawling onto the floor. Beast Bendy, seeing her vulnerability, slashed at her with his other arm.

"Look out Marinette!" Noir shouted in warning, running towards her even though he wouldn't make it in time. Angelbug, seeing that there was no time to escape, covered herself instinctively. But the claws never came down. After a few terrified heartbeats, Angelbug lowered her arms. Beast Bendy was frozen in place, though ink continued to drip off him.

"What happened?" Allison wondered as Noir helped Angelbug to her feet and they stepped away from Bendy. "And what's that?"

Noir and Angelbug looked to where Allison was pointing. There on Beast Bendy's chest, about where his heart would be, a glowing yellow dot began to grow.

"You have it too," Noir observed, seeing the same glow appear on Allison. Noir and Angelbug soon found glowing dots on their own chests. "What the heck?"

"Someone found the source of magic!" Tikki informed joyfully.

"Henry…" Angelbug muttered, gingerly touching the glow. "Henry found it somehow!"

"But how are we going to find him?" Noir wondered. Almost as soon as those words came out of his mouth, Henry emerged from an ink puddle near the throne. Henry coughed slightly as he pulled himself out of the ink, still cradling the heart close to himself. Once he was fully out of the ink, he gently examined his precious cargo. The heart was completely black and dark energy seemed to pour off of it. But underneath it all, Henry could still see the pure spark of light.

"Henry!" The others called, getting his attention immediately.

"Marinette!" Henry said urgently, scrambling to his feet. "This is what you need to purify! This will set everything right!"

"Tikki! Spots on!" Angelbug shouted without hesitation. The kwamii's energy flowed and strengthened the power already in her. Wings of red energy formed on her back and her halo began to shine brightly. As soon as the transformation was complete, Angelbug carefully took the heart in one hand and her yo-yo in the other.

"It's time to end this darkness!" Angelbug declared as the yo-yo opened to reveal it's light. The heart gently sunk into the light and the yo-yo closed. After waiting a few moments, Angelbug tapped the top of the yo-yo and the heart came floating out glowing bright gold. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Angelbug's yo-yo released sparkling red ladybugs which all swirled around the heart. The heart shined brightly before bursting apart in a cloud of now golden ladybugs. The golden ladybugs then came down and swirled around those infected with ink, making the ink melt away and restoring the human body underneath. Once the ladybugs had finished those in the throne room, they spread out and began traveling through the whole studio.

Floor by floor, the sparkling golden ladybugs passed over creatures of ink and returning them to the humans they once were and freeing those that had been trapped. Most of the humans only had the vaguest memories of what had happened, but they all felt overwhelming joy and relief. After so long of pain and suffering… they were finally free… Laughter and shouts of joy began to fill the studio and those within began following the golden ladybugs towards their origin, wondering who had been able to finally end their horrific nightmare…

Adrien smiled in relief at seeing his normal hands… his normal human hands… Glancing over at his Lady, Adrien was even happier to see her return to his normal Ladybug form. It never ceased to amaze him just how powerful she was. Ladybug caught him staring at her and she returned his smile. Both of them were so relieved that they were finally able to fix everything.

"You did it!" Alya cheered as she and Nino came up to them, pulling Ladybug into a hug. "I always knew you could!"

"Never doubted it," Ladybug laughed as the others joined in. Nearby, Adrien could see the restored Allison and Tom sharing a loving embrace, tears streaming down their faces. Looking for Henry, Adrien's grin faltered. Henry was standing in front of Beast Bendy, holding Bendy's head as his inky body melted away.

"I did it, Bendy…" Henry murmured, tears falling freely as Bendy continued to melt away. "I stopped Joey's rein…"

Bendy had melted back down to his Ink Demon form, though his smile seemed far more genuine now. Henry rubbed the ink from Bendy's face, revealing tearful pie-cut eyes

 _ **"Thank you… Creator…"**_ Bendy managed to whisper before he melted completely, leaving only a puddle behind…

"I don't understand…" Ladybug whispered in shock at the sad scene. "My ladybugs only make things right…"

"Maybe… it's because he wasn't supposed to be real..?" Alya suggested sadly. The group prepared to go comfort Henry when they noticed the ink pile began to glow…

All throughout the studio, the golden ladybugs had finished restoring everyone and were now converging on the throne room, bringing all the ink with them. Those in the throne room watched in stunned awe as all the ladybugs and ink began to swarm around the glowing ink puddle, Henry backing up to give the ladybugs room to fly. They swarmed together, making a swirling glowing cone that dazzled those watching it. Faster and faster they spun before finally exploding in a shower of sparkles and Marinette finally transformed back, her power completely spent.

Those in the throne room, as well as those slowly gathering in the doorway, stared in shock as the sparkles disappeared to reveal three black and white figures laying on the floor. It was the toons…Bendy, Boris, and Alice… all of them restored to their perfect bodies. The onlookers watched breathlessly as Bendy began to stir…

Bendy let out a small groan and sat up, rubbing his head. His memories were all jumbled up and it was giving him a headache trying to sort it all out. He slowly blinked and went to rub his eyes only to freeze… His hand…his hand looked like it was supposed to… not some sort of clawed ink dripping monstrosity… it had been so long since he had been himself… he had forgotten what it was like… Bendy was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard movement beside him. He whipped his head around and his eyes widened as he saw Alice waking up.

"Alice!" Bendy cheered diving over to hug her.

"Bendy…" Alice said in shock before eagerly returning his hug. "Bendy! You're free! I'm free! But what about..?"

A final groan caught their attention, making them look over as Boris sat up.

"What's going on..?" Boris yawned.

"Boris!" Alice and Bendy cheered, tackling him in a hug.

"Bendy! Alice!" Boris cheered, taking both of them in his arms. "You're alright! We're finally alright!"

Several of the bystanders made soft noises at witnessing the cheerful reunion, making the toons freeze. As one, their three heads snapped to the humans, their eyes widening. For a moment, there was only silence. Then the toons let out terrified screams.

 **AN: I drew a picture of Angelbug purifying the heart. You can find it on either my Tumblr or Deviantart.**


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57:**

The toons screamed, turning their heartwarming reunion into a heartbreaking scene as they scrambled to get away from the humans. They ended up curled up against the far wall. Alice was holding Bendy and using her body to shield him. Boris stood hunched in front of them, growling in a warning manner, though everyone could see he was shaking. Marinette instinctively took a step forward, wanting to comfort them somehow, only getting another growl towards them. Henry signaled Marinette and everyone to stay back. Once he was sure everyone was complying, Henry slowly walked forward holding his hands up in a calming gesture. The toons flinched back from him as he approached and began shaking even more.

"S-stay back…" Boris tried to warn, though with how much he was stuttering he wasn't very effective. "I-I won't l-let anyone get t-to Bendy or any -of us! N-not again.."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Henry replied calmly, kneeling down several feet away from the toons. Boris's ears perked up at the sound of Henry's voice, it seemed familiar somehow. "I made a promise that I was going to save you all… remember..?"

"H-humans made promises before…" Boris said stubbornly, though Henry could sense the wolf's hesitation. "But they were all lies…"

"You mean Joey don't you," Henry stated, all of the toons flinching and quaking in fear at Joey's name. "But I'm not anything like him. It's me, Henry… I'm your real Creator…"

Boris's eyes widened and even Alice lifted her head to look over at Henry. Now that they thought about it… they did vaguely recall that their Creator had returned… but with how screwed up their memories were right now… could they really trust them? Could they really trust this man who claimed to be their Creator? Especially after the Liar had claimed the same thing? The toons just didn't know what to do… Alice felt a nudge from Bendy and she glanced down. She could tell he wanted her to let him go. She gave him a concerned look but released her arms. Bendy slowly rose to his feet and walked around Boris, giving the wolf a reassuring pat as he walked by.

Bendy slowly walked towards Henry, watching carefully for any sign of deception. Bendy had been the one most tormented and scarred of all the toons by the Liars hands. If there was anyone that should decide if this Henry was trustworthy, it should be Bendy. Henry made no move, letting the toon come forward at his own pace. Bendy came to a stop right in front of Henry and looked deep into his eyes. There was no cruelty, greed, or lust for power in them… not like the Liar's eyes. There only love, kindness and joy… But to be absolutely sure, Bendy placed his hand on Henry's chest, his palm flat against the human's heart. As soon as he touched it… Bendy knew… it was the same heartbeat he had felt from within the ink… the one he had trusted his own heart to…

"It is you…" Bendy whispered in awe and joy, his eyes welling up with tears. Henry just gave Bendy a warm smile and that was all it took for the toon to throw himself into Henry's arms. That signaled to Alice and Boris that Henry was indeed their Creator and that was enough for them to run forward and join the hug. The weight and force of the toons hugging him knocked Henry onto his back, but he just laughed at their antics. The toons themselves started laughing as well, even as tears streamed down their cheeks. They were just so relieved to finally be with their true Creator and no longer to be used as tools by the Liar. For the first time in a long time… they felt safe and protected… None of them noticed, but Henry's and the toon's hearts began to glow and a brief golden aura enveloped them. It only lasted a split second, and those watching didn't catch it, but it signaled something wonderful…

"YOU!"

The voice spoke with such venom and hatred that it completely destroyed the peaceful and joyful atmosphere that had settled in the throne room. The toons immediately trembled in fear and hid behind Henry. Henry stood up to see Joey stalking toward them. He was disheveled and stripped of his ink, but his fury made him look far more dangerous than he had been.

"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE HENRY!" Joey shouted, his fists clenched. "ALL THAT I WORKED FOR! GONE! AND FOR WHAT!? THOSE WORTHLESS PILES OF INK! WELL, I WON"T BE-"

Joey's rant was cut off as Henry charged forward and delivered a powerful punch across his jaw. Joey crumpled to the ground and he could only look up in shock as Henry towered over him while the toons cheered Henry on in the background.

"That's for everything you put me and everyone else through!" Henry spat, glaring down at his once friend. "You deserve far more than a single punch, but I'd rather not spend any more time on you than I have to. I am going to make sure you are held responsible for all the pain and suffering you caused!"

Joey only gaped as Henry signaled for Allison and Tom to come forward. They did and gladly restrained their former captor, making sure he wouldn't slip away. Leaving Joey in their capable hands, Henry went back to the toons. He hugged them all tightly before scooping Bendy up and turning to the others, Alice and Boris clinging to his sides.

"Let's get out of here," Henry said with a tired grin. The teens returned his grin and began making their way out of the throne room. Those that had been watching parted for them and began to follow them up. It took them a while as they had to walk up lots of stairs and check every floor to make sure no one got left behind. But eventually, the very large group made it to the top floor. It wasn't hard to find some spare boards to make a path over the hole in front of the door and they all poured outside. Everyone rejoiced as they felt the light and warmth of the sun on their faces and the cool fresh breeze blowing pass. Finally, they were set free…

 **AN: It felt so good to be able to punch Joey in the face!** **One last chapter which I'll post tomorrow.**


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58:**

It was a solid hour before the liberated people finally stopped rejoicing in the sun and finally started talking about what to do next. Most were shocked to learn just how long they had been trapped in the ink and were very eager to find out what happened their families. There was also a lot of anger directed at Joey, as he was the one responsible for everything. It took Henry a lot of effort to keep them from turning into an angry mob, but he was finally able to convince them that it was best to let the authorities handle Joey.

As Henry was the only one with a car and there was nothing else around for miles, it was decided that he Allison and Tom would take Joey to the nearest police station to explain things (Leaving out all the magic and demonic ink of course) and get help for the hundreds of former ink creatures. Joey, of course, tried to talk his way out of it, but no one paid him any attention.

The Police were, of course, gobsmacked by Henry and the others just strolling in. Apparently, Henry and the teens had been stuck into the studio for several weeks and there was a frantic search currently going on for them, spearheaded by Gabriel Agreste and the other teen's parents. Even Linda and Mary, Henry's wife and daughter, had cut their traveling short to help look for them. This lead of course to a media frenzy as soon as the news that not only Henry and the teens had been found, but hundreds of missing people as well.

The police were barely able to keep the news crews at bay as everyone was taken care of and the teen's parents were flown in to be reunited with their children. Henry was luckily able to hide the toons away in his car before anyone could spot them. It was very chaotic, but the former ink creatures were soon on their way to hospitals to be checked over (and lots of therapy) while Joey was sitting in jail awaiting trial. With all the crimes he had committed, he was looking to be put away for a very long time.

That only left Henry, the teens, and the teens' parents. Now the parents had all had hotel rooms for them and they were eager to have their kids stay with them before heading home to France. But the teens wanted to spend one last night with Henry. After all, they have been through, they had grown close bonds and they wanted to have at least one last peaceful night together before they parted. The teens' parents were reluctant at first but eventually agreed. Mr. Agreste was the hardest to convince, especially because he blamed Henry for getting Adrien into a dangerous situation, but Adrien refused to back down. Eventually, Mr. Agreste agreed though on the condition that he would be picking up Adrien first thing in the morning to head back to France. Henry agreed and the teens piled into his car.

As soon as they had driven far enough, the toons came out of hiding and started getting to know the teens. The toons were a bit shy and stayed huddled close together, but the teens were kind and the toons were able to relax around them. Before they knew it, they were back at Henry's house with Linda and Mary coming out to greet them.

"I was so worried about you!" Linda sobbed in happiness, holding her husband tightly. "I never liked Joey as he always overworked you, but I would never have believed he would have kidnapped so many people! I'm just so glad you were able to escape!"

"Not only escape, but rescue everyone else," Mary added with glee. "I always knew you were a hero, but now so does everyone else!"

"You flatter me too much," Henry laughed. "If anyone is a hero, it's those kids. They were very brave throughout the whole thing and helped me out so much. I probably would never have escaped without them."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all this," Linda said, hugging each the teenagers. "And I wish we got to meet under more normal circumstances like we were supposed to. Now come inside, I have dinner ready!"

"There's one last thing though," Henry added, helping the toons out of the car. They clung close to Henry as they studied Linda and Mary.

"Is that..?" Linda began in shock, while Mary squealed in delight at seeing the toons.

"Why don't we discuss this inside?" Henry suggested, leading his stunned wife and the rest of the group inside. As the ate, Henry and the others told Linda and Mary everything they went through in the studio, magic and all. Henry was going to leave out Marinette's and Adrien's powers, but they gave him permission to share it with his family, trusting that they wouldn't tell anyone else. After dessert and hot chocolate, everyone settled down for a well-deserved rest. The toons ended up piled around Henry, as they weren't ready to be apart from him yet. Linda just smiled at the adorable scene.

The next morning Henry had a brief moment of panic. He was afraid that when he opened his eyes, he would find out that he and the others hadn't escaped the studio. That he would find that he and the others would still be trapped in a never-ending nightmare. But then he felt something shift next to him and he can be aware of warm weights pressing on him. Finally opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Bendy staring down at him with wide eyes.

"You're real…" Bendy whispered in awe. "We're actually out…"

"That's right…" Henry assured the toon, realizing he wasn't the only one struggling to accept that they were all alright. "I was able to set you free…"

Bendy once again hugged Henry, making him laugh. The noise and movement ended up waking the others on the bed and they happily joined the hug. Eventually, Henry was able to untangle himself and helped Linda start up breakfast. Pleasant scents began to fill the house and slowly drew in the other inhabitants of the house. Breakfast passed by in joy and laughter but came to an end all too soon as the teen's parents came to pick them up.

"Thanks for the awesome adventure!" Nino said, waving goodbye to Henry.

"I can't wait to write all about this, though I'll be sure to be discreet," Alya said with a wink, already typing on her phone.

"Glad you enjoyed yourselves despite everything," Henry laughed.

"I hope to see you again sometime," Marinette said, smiling at Henry. "Maybe you can come to France sometime and visit our bakery."

"Sounds great Marinette," Henry agreed, returning her smile before turning to Adrien. "I'm sorry that our reunion went so crazy. We should spend more time together in the future, though hopefully with less ink."

"Agreed," Adrien laughed. "You're family after all and I don't want us to lose touch again."

"Feel free to write us," Linda suggested. "And our home is always open if you happen to be in town."

"Do keep in touch as I'm sure all your cousins would love to get to know you better," Henry added with a wink.

"I will," Adrien promised. He gave Henry one last hug before heading off. Henry watched as the teenagers left. Even though they went through a lot of hardships in the studio, he was glad that he got to really get to know the teenagers. And as he thought of the three new additions to his family, he considered it all worth it. Sure, there was probably still going to be challenges ahead as the toons had a lot of trauma they had to work through, but he wouldn't give them up for anything.

Heading back into the house, he looked forward to starting the new day.

 **AN: And that's it, the story's done. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you had a lot of fun reading it. Check out my other stories and have a great weekend!**


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